Kroger (NYSE:KR) Given New $71.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $65.00 to $71.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.85% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on KR. Melius Research cut Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.39.

Kroger Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:KR traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $69.04. The stock had a trading volume of 987,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,655,985. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.89. Kroger has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $73.63. The firm has a market cap of $45.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. On average, research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors 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.