Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Telsey Advisory Group Analyst Says

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price upped by Telsey Advisory Group from $62.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.28% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.55.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $60.59 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $57.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.29. Kroger has a twelve month low of $42.97 and a twelve month high of $60.70. The company has a market capitalization of $43.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after buying an additional 53,006 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after buying an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth $6,524,000. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 82.2% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after buying an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.