Kroger (NYSE:KR) Downgraded by Melius Research to Strong Sell

Melius Research cut shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.39.

Kroger Stock Down 1.2 %

KR stock opened at $67.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.58 and a 200-day moving average of $60.65. 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 $49.04 and a one year high of $68.68.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KR. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently 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.