Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target Raised to $71.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $69.00 to $71.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim began coverage on Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.93.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $58.84 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. Kroger has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $63.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Park National Corp OH raised its holdings in Kroger by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 14,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 45,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,806,000 after purchasing an additional 11,013 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after buying an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after buying an additional 2,977 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company Profile

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.