Evercore ISI Lowers Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target to $62.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price cut by Evercore ISI from $63.00 to $62.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on KR. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Guggenheim increased their price objective 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. BNP Paribas reissued an underperform rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $55.17.

Kroger Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE KR opened at $56.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $40.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Kroger has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after buying an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Kroger by 1.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,640,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,872,000 after purchasing an additional 322,040 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Kroger by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,546,000 after purchasing an additional 503,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,922,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,355,000 after buying an additional 535,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.