The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.00.

A number of analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $2,749,822.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $622,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 118,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,788,314. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 245,753 shares of company stock valued at $17,688,180. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 0.2%

Kroger stock opened at $71.40 on Friday. Kroger has a one year low of $49.74 and a one year high of $74.11. The company's fifty day moving average price is $69.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.67. 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 company has a market capitalization of $47.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

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.

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