Kroger (NYSE:KR) Given New $65.00 Price Target at Telsey Advisory Group

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price boosted by Telsey Advisory Group from $62.00 to $65.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

KR has been the subject of several other reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.55.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $61.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50-day moving average is $57.42 and its 200 day moving average is $54.41. Kroger has a 1 year low of $42.97 and a 1 year high of $61.18.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KR. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Kroger by 5.6% during the third quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.