Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target Raised to $72.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Free Report) had its target price lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $71.00 to $72.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.50.

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Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $3.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $66.81. 10,791,860 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,868,815. The company has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Kroger has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $67.57.

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

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 169,559 shares of company stock valued at $10,587,476. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.