Kroger (NYSE:KR) Given New $82.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Key Points

• Evercore ISI has raised its price target for Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.26% from the stock's current price.
• Multiple analysts have recently increased their price targets for Kroger, with Deutsche Bank setting a new target of $67.00 and Guggenheim raising it to $78.00, reflecting varied outlooks on the stock.
• Insider trading activity includes significant share sales by executives, with EVP Mary Ellen Adcock selling 34,250 shares at an average price of $71.16, reducing her ownership by 15.66%.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Evercore ISI from $80.00 to $82.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Evercore ISI's target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.26% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on KR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.53.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $74.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's fifty day moving average is $70.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.09. Kroger has a 52-week low of $50.69 and a 52-week high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The business's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 687.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 5,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,165,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,836,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Kroger by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,869,081 shares of the company's stock worth $134,069,000 after purchasing an additional 409,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 195.5% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 96,881 shares of the company's stock worth $6,949,000 after purchasing an additional 64,091 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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