Kroger (NYSE:KR) Now Covered by Analysts at Guggenheim

Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on KR. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.43.

Kroger Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $61.85 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $44.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.22. Kroger has a 52-week low of $44.48 and a 52-week high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 205,370 shares of company stock valued at $12,697,900. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after buying an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $914,795,000 after acquiring an additional 126,303 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Kroger by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.