Citigroup Reiterates Neutral Rating for Kroger (NYSE:KR)

Kroger (NYSE:KR)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Citigroup in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $61.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup’s price target indicates a potential upside of 4.21% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.80.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $58.54 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.73. 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 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $63.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by 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.