Kroger (NYSE:KR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Barclays

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.25.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $71.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. Kroger has a 52-week low of $50.69 and a 52-week high of $74.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $622,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,788,314. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 49,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 228,948 shares of company stock valued at $16,585,026 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 6,840.0% in the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at $31,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.