Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.93.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $59.92. The company had a trading volume of 4,996,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,179,010. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.44. The company has a market capitalization of $43.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. Kroger has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $63.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm'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 owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company's stock worth $1,894,202,000 after buying an additional 2,110,681 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $914,795,000 after purchasing an additional 126,303 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Kroger by 13.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company's stock worth $387,456,000 after acquiring an additional 917,923 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock worth $353,246,000 after purchasing an additional 37,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Kroger by 96.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is 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.

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