Kroger (NYSE:KR) Coverage Initiated at Melius Research

Analysts at Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research’s target price suggests a potential downside of 1.91% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on KR. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.36.

Kroger Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of KR opened at $56.07 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.89. Kroger has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,010 shares of company stock worth $444,056. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 255.6% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. 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.