The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $66.88.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $64.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.78. Kroger has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. 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 (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $1,967,114.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 103,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,861,803.52. This represents a 22.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 212,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,282,348. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during 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.