Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report) had its target price upped by analysts at Bank of America from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 21.26% from the stock’s previous close.
Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.43.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Kroger
Kroger Price Performance
Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger
In other Kroger news, 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 value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 205,370 shares of company stock valued at $12,697,900. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of Kroger
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 884,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,688,000 after purchasing an additional 40,914 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.6% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 13,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 14.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,269,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,426,000 after buying an additional 281,878 shares during the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,037,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Kroger by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently 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.
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