The Goldman Sachs Group Reiterates Buy Rating for Kroger (NYSE:KR)

The Goldman Sachs Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a $70.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on KR. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.06.

Kroger Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $64.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Kroger has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $64.90.

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

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.