Kroger (NYSE:KR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

KR has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reiterated an underperform rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $57.30.

Kroger Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $54.51 on Thursday. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 322 shares during the period. SouthState Corp increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 334.3% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 101.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.