Kroger (NYSE:KR) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Guggenheim

Stock analysts at Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 10.61% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.69.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.48. 961,030 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,727,497. Kroger has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $63.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were 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. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 188,438 shares of company stock worth $11,657,598. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Mendel Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the third quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.