Evercore ISI Increases Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target to $63.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $62.00 to $63.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.68% from the company’s current price.

KR has been the topic of several other reports. Argus increased their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.09.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $55.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.38 and a 200 day moving average of $53.66. Kroger has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after buying an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Kroger by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,653,000 after acquiring an additional 214,852 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 96.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.