Kroger’s (KR) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reissued their outperform rating on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $62.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on KR. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued an underperform rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $55.17.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $55.49 on Tuesday. Kroger has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The company has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,180 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,322. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Kroger by 101.6% in the first 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 period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp boosted its stake in Kroger by 334.3% in the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. 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.