The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $69.00 According to Analysts

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 14th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Kroger from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mary Adcock sold 72,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $4,425,090.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 175,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,636,643.10. This trade represents a 29.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of KR opened at $59.81 on Tuesday. Kroger has a one year low of $54.15 and a one year high of $76.58. The company has a market cap of $35.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.84.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, September 11th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 49.90% and a net margin of 0.73%.The business had revenue of $34.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Kroger will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 84.78%.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) is one of the largest grocery retailers in the United States. Founded in Cincinnati in 1883 by Bernard Kroger, the company operates supermarkets, multi-department stores, pharmacies, convenience stores and fuel centers across the country.

Kroger sells a broad range of fresh foods, packaged groceries, household products, health and beauty items, prepared foods and general merchandise. Its private-label offerings include Simple Truth, Private Selection and Kroger brands.