Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target Raised to $71.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective increased by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $69.00 to $71.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.52% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about 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 report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.93.

Kroger Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:KR opened at $61.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.97. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $44.48 and a fifty-two week high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 worth $12,143,923 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Kroger by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,246,000 after purchasing an additional 37,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 884,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,688,000 after buying an additional 40,914 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.