Evercore ISI Has Lowered Expectations for Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Price

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price lowered by analysts at Evercore ISI from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.71% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Melius raised shares of Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.11.

Kroger Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE KR opened at $65.38 on Tuesday. Kroger has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $73.63. The company has a market capitalization of $43.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $68.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 82,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,711,810.72. This trade represents a 27.44% 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, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $72,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares in the company, valued at $754,370.19. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 122,679 shares of company stock worth $8,584,776. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $351,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Coordinated Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $282,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 7,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Capital Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,870,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.