Morgan Stanley Boosts Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target to $58.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on KR. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Argus upped their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $59.09.

Kroger Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $56.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $40.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $53.46 and a 200-day moving average of $53.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Kroger has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,863,000. Maj Invest Holding A S purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $185,913,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 96.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Kroger by 698.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in Kroger by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after buying an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.