The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Receives $55.90 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.20.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1 %

Kroger stock opened at $50.21 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.71. Kroger has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a market capitalization of $36.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.43.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,894,582.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 255.6% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.