The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.93.

A number of analysts recently commented on KR shares. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $58.84 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.15. The company has a market capitalization of $42.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. Kroger has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $63.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

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

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.