Kroger (NYSE:KR) Given New $63.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price boosted by Guggenheim from $61.00 to $63.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.27.

Kroger Trading Up 1.5 %

KR stock opened at $60.09 on Monday. Kroger has a 52 week low of $42.97 and a 52 week high of $60.58. The company has a market capitalization of $43.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the 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 directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,706,398 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Kroger by 96.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,811 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $204,828,000 after buying an additional 1,876,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted 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 valued at $93,792,000 after buying an additional 1,643,307 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.