Kroger (NYSE:KR) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.13.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $62.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.01, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.58. Kroger has a one year low of $58.12 and a one year high of $74.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.73.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 0.54%.The company had revenue of $33.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.750-4.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 1.9% during the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 58,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,225,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 19,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WESPAC Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.2% in the third quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 13,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $916,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) is one of the largest supermarket operators in the United States, offering a wide range of retail grocery and related services. Founded in Cincinnati in 1883 by Bernard Kroger, the company operates a portfolio of supermarket and multi-department store banners and provides customers with fresh foods, packaged groceries, deli and bakery items, meat and seafood, produce, and prepared foods. Kroger’s stores commonly include pharmacy services and fuel centers, positioning the company as a broad-based neighborhood retail destination for everyday needs.

In addition to traditional in-store retailing, Kroger manufactures and distributes a variety of private-label brands and operates its own food production and supply-chain facilities.