Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target Raised to $63.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Guggenheim from $61.00 to $63.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.55% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on KR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.27.

Kroger Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:KR traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $59.69. The company had a trading volume of 619,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,641,243. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.22. Kroger has a twelve month low of $42.97 and a twelve month high of $60.35. The firm has a market cap of $43.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,398 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Kroger by 96.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after buying an additional 2,643,811 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Kroger by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 110.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 698.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,307 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by 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.