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

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $65.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $58.00.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. BNP Paribas reissued an underperform rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $56.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.48. Kroger has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $53.27 and its 200 day moving average price 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 (NYSE:KR) last posted its 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 company 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%. Kroger’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,863,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,667,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,642,000 after buying an additional 2,552,989 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,724,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,372,000 after buying an additional 1,438,626 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $71,410,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.