JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target to $73.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $75.00 to $73.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 8.24% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Argus set a $85.00 price target on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Roth Capital upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.39.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded up $1.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.44. 1,945,783 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,022,480. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Kroger has a 12 month low of $57.69 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.36 and a 200-day moving average of $68.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The firm had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 35,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $15,197,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its position in Kroger by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 544,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,682,000 after buying an additional 78,281 shares in the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 43,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,922,000 after buying an additional 1,926 shares during the period. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 33.9% in the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.