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

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $58.64.

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of 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, June 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th.

Kroger Stock Up 1.4 %

KR opened at $53.21 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $38.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. Kroger has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.31.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly 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 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. SRN Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $651,000. Maven Securities LTD grew its position in Kroger by 124.5% in the second quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 10,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,628 shares in the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 8,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthquest Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 9,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.