The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.88.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. 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. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 212,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,282,348 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $64.69 on Friday. Kroger has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.78. The company has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. 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, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership 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.