UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $63.00 to $66.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 6.31% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.31.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $62.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Kroger has a one year low of $43.51 and a one year high of $63.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $58.28 and its 200 day moving average is $54.87.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,821 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,490 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its position 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 worth $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,795,000 after purchasing an additional 126,303 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Kroger by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after buying an additional 723,771 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised 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 valued at $387,456,000 after buying an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted 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 buying an additional 2,643,811 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by 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.