Kroger (NYSE:KR) PT Raised to $58.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $57.00 to $58.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.05% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday. Argus increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.73.

Kroger Trading Up 7.2 %

NYSE KR opened at $55.21 on Friday. Kroger has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.30 and a 200-day moving average of $53.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $39.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,427 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,653,000 after purchasing an additional 214,852 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.