Kroger (NYSE:KR) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $62.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on KR. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Argus raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $59.36.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $55.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.92. Kroger has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 stock was 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 owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,932 shares of company stock valued at $830,303. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $6,524,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 53.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,882,000 after acquiring an additional 129,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 82.2% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after acquiring an additional 59,949 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.