Kroger (NYSE:KR) Trading 4.7% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) shares rose 4.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $71.00 to $73.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Kroger traded as high as $70.61 and last traded at $70.40. Approximately 3,462,922 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 5,106,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.27.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on KR. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Melius cut shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Melius Research downgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 228,785 shares of company stock valued at $15,393,666. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 4.3% during the 4th 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. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.