Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $58.64.
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on KR
Kroger Price Performance
NYSE:KR opened at $53.90 on Thursday. Kroger has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a market cap of $38.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $52.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. Kroger's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.
Kroger Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.
Insider Transactions at Kroger
In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Kroger
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 4,810.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,955,000 after acquiring an additional 556,266 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 53.3% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,115,000 after purchasing an additional 261,368 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 18.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,882,000 after purchasing an additional 129,873 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $671,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.
Kroger Company Profile
(Get Free Report
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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