Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Price

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 2.87% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.47.

Kroger Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE:KR traded up $1.91 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $73.88. The company had a trading volume of 3,167,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,825,857. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.27. The company has a market capitalization of $48.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. Kroger has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $74.09.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares in the company, valued at $754,370.19. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $392,247.39. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $246,349.20. This trade represents a 61.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,679 shares of company stock worth $7,865,706 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. IFC Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in Kroger by 2.0% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company's stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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