Brokerages Set The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Price Target at $66.50

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $66.50.

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Melius Research downgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st.

Kroger Stock Up 3.3 %

NYSE KR opened at $71.30 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.66. 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 has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $71.93. The firm has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total transaction of $2,083,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,870,057.28. This represents a 19.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,160,200.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 82,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,711,810.72. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 290,056 shares of company stock valued at $19,637,066. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is 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.