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

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.5263.

Several analysts have commented on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Melius Research raised Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $1,890,387.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,863,000 after buying an additional 186,302 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Kroger by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,768,000 after acquiring an additional 916,230 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth about $518,267,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Kroger by 85.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Kroger by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,363,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,156,000 after purchasing an additional 865,699 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE KR opened at $69.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $50.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90. The stock has a market cap of $46.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.37.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.15%.

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.