The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Receives $67.19 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.19.

Several research analysts have commented on KR shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $63.71 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.96 and its 200-day moving average is $58.45. The stock has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. Kroger has a 1-year low of $47.35 and a 1-year high of $66.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.