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

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.5789.

KR has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $67.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Kroger has a 12 month low of $51.52 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.84.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%.The firm had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 38.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total value of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,448,791.92. This trade represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6,840.0% during the 2nd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 10,425.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. 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.