Kroger (NYSE:KR) Given New $63.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective hoisted by Guggenheim from $61.00 to $63.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on KR. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.55.

Kroger Stock Down 0.1 %

KR opened at $60.50 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.31 and a 200-day moving average of $54.37. The company has a market capitalization of $43.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $42.97 and a fifty-two week high of $61.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.