Kroger (NYSE:KR) Shares Up 4.7% on Analyst Upgrade

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) shares were up 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 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 analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Melius Research lowered shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Kroger Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $51.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.65.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback 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.