Brokerages Set The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Price Target at $59.36

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.36.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE KR opened at $56.71 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.93. The company has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. Kroger has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,010 shares of company stock worth $444,056. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Kroger by 101.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Institutional investors 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.