BMO Capital Markets Raises Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target to $63.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price target upped by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $60.00 to $63.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 1.48% from the company’s current price.

KR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.31.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $62.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.87. Kroger has a twelve month low of $43.51 and a twelve month high of $63.59. 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 (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 58,821 shares of company stock worth $3,445,490. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.93% of the stock is 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.