The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.09.

Several brokerages recently commented on KR. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were 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 owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % 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 valued at $721,243 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.2% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SignalPoint Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 3.2% during the third quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:KR opened at $59.22 on Friday. Kroger has a one year low of $42.97 and a one year high of $60.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.23.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

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.