Telsey Advisory Group Reiterates Outperform Rating for Kroger (NYSE:KR)

Kroger (NYSE:KR)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $73.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.41% from the company’s current price.

KR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned 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 $67.19.

Kroger Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $2.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $62.71. 9,309,966 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,455,223. The company has a market cap of $45.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. Kroger has a 52 week low of $49.00 and a 52 week high of $66.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.