The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $66.88.

Several brokerages have commented on KR. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KR. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in Kroger by 49.4% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 24,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 7,989 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Kroger by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,783,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 4.7% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 205,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,771,000 after acquiring an additional 9,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 492.8% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 385,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,113,000 after acquiring an additional 320,816 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $66.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.87 and its 200-day moving average is $60.21. Kroger has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $68.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

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.