Kroger (NYSE:KR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Kroger (NYSE:KR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

KR has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.30.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $50.43. 7,073,292 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,297,594. Kroger has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $52.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,894,582.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 334.3% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 370.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

About Kroger

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.