Kroger (NYSE:KR) Given New $71.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $69.00 to $71.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

KR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.93.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $58.84 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.05 and a 200-day moving average of $56.13. Kroger has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.