Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target Raised to $73.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price upped by Guggenheim from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.32% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Melius Research lowered shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.50.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR traded up $2.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $69.98. 3,030,468 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,105,061. Kroger has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $70.58. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.