Kroger (NYSE:KR) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $65.82 and last traded at $65.80, with a volume of 4961802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KR. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Kroger Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $47.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.64.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.