Kroger (NYSE:KR) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $63.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Kroger traded as high as $61.83 and last traded at $61.45, with a volume of 524842 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.73.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 58,821 shares of company stock worth $3,445,490. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.