Kroger (NYSE:KR) Given New $63.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price target boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $60.00 to $63.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.31.

Kroger Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $63.30 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.81. Kroger has a 1 year low of $43.51 and a 1 year high of $63.59. 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 market capitalization of $45.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,821 shares of company stock worth $3,445,490 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KR. Mendel Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 3.2% in the third quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in Kroger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 5.6% during the third quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.