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

Kroger (NYSE:KR) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm presently has a $65.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $58.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 17.45% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on KR. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.33.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $55.35 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $52.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.56. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 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.

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

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in Kroger by 334.3% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 370.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.