Kroger (NYSE:KR) Earns Outperform Rating from Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reissued their outperform rating on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $65.00 target price on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered Kroger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.64.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $60.75 on Thursday. Kroger has a 52-week low of $43.51 and a 52-week high of $61.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.75 and a 200 day moving average of $54.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 31.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 22,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 5,330 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 38.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 27,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,598 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 32,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,636,000 after acquiring an additional 6,338 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in Kroger by 82.2% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after acquiring an additional 59,949 shares in the last quarter. 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.