Kroger (NYSE:KR) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $68.68 and last traded at $67.58, with a volume of 390921 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on KR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.39.

Kroger Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $49.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.41 and a 200 day moving average of $60.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 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.