Wells Fargo & Company Raises Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target to $73.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $70.00 to $73.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 17.59% from the stock’s current price.

KR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.31.

Kroger Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE KR opened at $62.08 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.28 and a 200-day moving average of $54.87. 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 has a 1-year low of $43.51 and a 1-year high of $63.59. The firm has a market cap of $44.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 58,821 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,490. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. 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.