The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.64.

A number of research firms have commented on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $53.21. 4,417,100 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,963,817. Kroger has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a market cap of $38.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45. The company's 50 day moving average price is $52.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. Kroger's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KR. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 255.6% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 101.6% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th 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.