Kroger’s (KR) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group restated their outperform rating on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $62.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reissued an underperform rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $55.17.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $55.49 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $40.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.24. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,180 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,322 over the last ninety days. 1.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,427 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Kroger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,653,000 after purchasing an additional 214,852 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Kroger by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,546,000 after purchasing an additional 503,839 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 7.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,551,000 after acquiring an additional 511,978 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,863,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.