Kroger (NYSE:KR) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $72.09 and last traded at $71.72, with a volume of 893577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Melius lowered Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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 firm has a market capitalization of $46.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $66.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.21.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, 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 value of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,402,000 after buying an additional 1,981,259 shares during the last quarter. 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.