Kroger (NYSE:KR) Given New $73.00 Price Target at Telsey Advisory Group

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Telsey Advisory Group from $70.00 to $73.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.91% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on KR. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.19.

Kroger Stock Up 1.2 %

Kroger stock opened at $65.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average is $61.15 and its 200-day moving average is $57.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $45.17 and a fifty-two week high of $65.83.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm 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 business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after purchasing an additional 43,143 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 145,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,363,000 after buying an additional 1,592 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 537,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,820,000 after acquiring an additional 195,557 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 35,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.