Kroger (NYSE:KR) Research Coverage Started at Melius Research

Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Argus upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $59.36.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $56.60 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.79 and a 200-day moving average of $53.89. Kroger has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $40.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,010 shares of company stock worth $444,056 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KR. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Commerce Bank raised its position in shares of Kroger by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 37,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 8,557 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $477,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Kroger by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 360,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,491,000 after buying an additional 10,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 17,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.