Kroger (NYSE:KR) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $73.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $54.00.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.64.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $60.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.57. Kroger has a 52-week low of $43.51 and a 52-week high of $61.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. 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.