Kroger (NYSE:KR) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at Melius Research

Equities researchers at Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research’s price target points to a potential downside of 1.91% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on KR. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Argus raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.36.

Kroger Stock Down 0.1 %

KR stock opened at $56.07 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $40.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $53.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Kroger has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,010 shares of company stock valued at $444,056 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after buying an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,653,000 after acquiring an additional 214,852 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in the second 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 during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.