Kroger (NYSE:KR) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by Melius Research

Melius Research lowered shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.39.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $67.30 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $48.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.65. Kroger has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.68.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Kroger by 10.6% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 26,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co grew its position in Kroger by 139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 26,639 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at $456,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at $222,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 217,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,449,000 after buying an additional 9,430 shares during the period. 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.