Kroger (NYSE:KR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on Kroger and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Mkm upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Capital upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.50.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $69.18 on Friday. Kroger has a one year low of $55.60 and a one year high of $74.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.12. The company has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The company had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.53%.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in Kroger by 6,840.0% during the 2nd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 10,425.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.