Kroger (NYSE:KR) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

by · The Cerbat Gem

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR – Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an outperform rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $59.09.

View Our Latest Analysis on KR

Kroger Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:KR opened at $54.83 on Monday. Kroger has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The firm has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company’s 50 day moving average is $53.60 and its 200-day moving average is $53.79.

Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in 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 boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in 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 bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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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