The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $66.06.

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,942,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mendel Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $47.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $44.48 and a fifty-two week high of $65.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.25.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.