Kroger (NYSE:KR) Given New $73.00 Price Target at Telsey Advisory Group

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective upped by Telsey Advisory Group from $70.00 to $73.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.96% from the stock’s current price. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Kroger’s FY2027 earnings at $5.10 EPS.

KR has been the topic of a number of other reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock opened at $65.20 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $61.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.75. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. Kroger has a 1-year low of $45.88 and a 1-year high of $66.18.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KR. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 25.5% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after buying an additional 43,143 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 145,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,363,000 after buying an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 57.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 537,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,820,000 after buying an additional 195,557 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.5% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 35,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after buying an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 7.2% in the third quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 1,046 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.