Kroger (NYSE:KR) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $68.68 and last traded at $67.58, with a volume of 390921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.

Kroger Trading Down 1.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $47.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's 50-day moving average is $64.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.88.

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Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 228,785 shares of company stock valued at $15,393,666 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

About Kroger

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.