Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.
A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 14th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $60.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Melius Research set a $80.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.35.
Check Out Our Latest Report on KR
Kroger Stock Performance
NYSE:KR opened at $68.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $40.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $61.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.75. Kroger has a 1-year low of $54.15 and a 1-year high of $76.58.
Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, September 11th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $34.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 49.90%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kroger will post 5.20 EPS for the current year.
Kroger Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.78%.
Insider Activity at Kroger
In related news, EVP Mary Adcock sold 72,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $4,425,090.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 175,233 shares in the company, valued at $10,636,643.10. This trade represents a 29.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,016,956,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Kroger by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,296,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $889,878,000 after purchasing an additional 53,625 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Kroger by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,041,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,129,000 after purchasing an additional 876,168 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth $284,501,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Kroger by 18.3% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,942,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,912,000 after purchasing an additional 610,039 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Kroger News
Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street Zen raised Kroger’s stock rating to Buy, providing a favorable analyst signal. Kroger Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen
- Neutral Sentiment: Kroger is offering veterans and military families a 10% Veterans Day discount. The promotion may support customer goodwill, but its financial impact is likely limited. Kroger Offers Veterans Day Discount
- Neutral Sentiment: Reports of vehicles crashing into Kroger store entrances concern individual locations and do not indicate a company-wide operating issue. A meal-prep video featuring Kroger groceries is also unlikely to materially affect the stock. Driver Cited After Crashing Into Local Kroger Honeysuckle Meal-Preps With Kroger Groceries
- Negative Sentiment: Coverage underscores Kroger’s challenge competing on price: Consumer Reports put its prices 14.8% above Walmart’s, and Kroger’s CEO has said the company is not trying to be the cheapest. A persistent gap could make it harder to retain price-sensitive shoppers or grow sales, even if competing on price is not Kroger’s strategy. Kroger’s Price Gap With Walmart Regional Grocers’ Pricing Challenge
About Kroger
The Kroger Co is a U.S. grocery retailer founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1883 by Bernard Kroger. It operates supermarkets and other grocery formats across the United States under banners including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, King Soopers, and Smith’s.
Alongside groceries and household essentials, Kroger stores offer services such as pharmacies and fuel centers. The company also sells products under its own private-label brands and produces many of those items through its food manufacturing operations.
Kroger serves customers through physical stores and digital channels, including online ordering for pickup and delivery.
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