Kroger (NYSE:KR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $33.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $26.98. Jefferies Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.79% from the company’s current price. Jefferies Group also issued estimates for Kroger’s FY2018 earnings at $2.03 EPS, Q1 2019 earnings at $0.58 EPS, FY2019 earnings at $1.94 EPS and FY2021 earnings at $2.35 EPS.
Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. TheStreet raised Kroger from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 27th. Pivotal Research raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $21.34 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. Hilliard Lyons reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. Northcoast Research raised Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 6th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Kroger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.80.
Kroger (KR) traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,593,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,000,000. Kroger has a 1 year low of $19.69 and a 1 year high of $34.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $24,080.00, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.93.
In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 1,538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.61, for a total value of $39,388.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $664,733.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Joseph Donnelly sold 15,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.66, for a total value of $425,964.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,868 shares of company stock valued at $1,607,426 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howe & Rusling Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Mountain Capital Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Kroger during the second quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Kroger by 85.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 2,708 shares in the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 38,135.3% during the second quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 12,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc RI raised its stake in Kroger by 4.3% during the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.59% of the company’s stock.
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Kroger Company Profile
The Kroger Co (Kroger) manufactures and processes food for sale in its supermarkets. The Company operates supermarkets, multi-department stores, jewelry stores and convenience stores throughout the United States. As of January 28, 2017, it had operated approximately 4,000 owned or leased supermarkets, convenience stores, fine jewelry stores, distribution warehouses and food production plants through divisions, subsidiaries or affiliates.
