Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target Raised to $71.00 at Morgan Stanley

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $65.00 to $71.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on KR. Guggenheim raised their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius downgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.39.

Kroger Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE KR opened at $68.92 on Monday. Kroger has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $73.63. The company has a market cap of $45.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,043,905.59. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KR. IFC Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.