JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Price

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price target boosted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $69.00 to $71.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 20.12% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.93.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $59.11 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.11. Kroger has a 12 month low of $44.48 and a 12 month high of $63.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 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.