Guggenheim Issues Positive Forecast for Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Price

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Guggenheim from $61.00 to $63.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.55% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.27.

Kroger Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KR traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $59.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 619,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,641,243. The company has a market capitalization of $43.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $56.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Kroger has a 52 week low of $42.97 and a 52 week high of $60.35.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Kroger by 11,570.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,398 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Kroger by 96.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,811 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Kroger by 110.5% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876,397 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted 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 worth $93,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,307 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.