Analysts Set The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) PT at $59.36

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.36.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE KR opened at $55.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $40.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.95.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,010 shares of company stock worth $444,056. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 255.6% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 101.6% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company Profile

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.