Kroger (NYSE:KR) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to “Overweight”

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $65.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $58.00.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on KR. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas restated an underperform rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Kroger Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $55.26 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.63. Kroger has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The company has a market capitalization of $39.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SouthState Corp grew its stake in Kroger by 334.3% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 370.1% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently 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.