Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $62.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 10.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.14.

Kroger Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of KR stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $58.98. 1,332,659 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,424,556. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.48. Kroger has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $63.59. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.67.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Kroger by 11,570.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,398 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Kroger by 96.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after buying an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Kroger by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Kroger by 110.5% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 698.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,307 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.