The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.17.

KR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th.

Kroger Stock Up 0.1 %

KR opened at $55.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. Kroger has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.37.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KR. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth $25,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. SouthState Corp raised its position in shares of Kroger by 334.3% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 370.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.