The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.79.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 202,370 shares of company stock worth $12,530,170. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Down 0.8 %

KR stock opened at $61.46 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $59.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.92. Kroger has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $44.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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.