The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $57.31, but opened at $55.89. Kroger shares last traded at $56.55, with a volume of 626,461 shares trading hands.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages recently commented on KR. Telsey Advisory Group raised 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.08.
Kroger Stock Performance
The firm has a market capitalization of $39.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.12.
Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Kroger Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 17,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 11,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.