Kroger (NYSE:KR) Rating Increased to Hold at Melius Research

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Melius Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on KR. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.06.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $69.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 549,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,660,668. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Kroger has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $73.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 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.

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