JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Price

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price upped by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $71.00 to $72.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.77% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on KR. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.50.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $66.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. Kroger has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $67.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.00.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 169,559 shares of company stock valued at $10,587,476. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 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.