Kroger (NYSE:KR) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $62.00. Telsey Advisory Group currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Kroger traded as high as $57.36 and last traded at $57.19, with a volume of 512590 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.90.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on KR. Stephens decreased their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Kroger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Kroger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.64.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Kroger in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in Kroger by 334.3% in the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $41.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

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.