Evercore ISI Raises Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target to $64.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price target raised by Evercore ISI from $62.00 to $64.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.48% from the stock’s current price.

KR has been the subject of several other reports. TheStreet raised Kroger from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.45.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $56.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Kroger has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $57.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.48. The company has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KR. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,016,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,598,757,000 after acquiring an additional 362,562 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,123,427 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,653,000 after buying an additional 214,852 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 2.4% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,640,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,872,000 after buying an additional 322,040 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Kroger by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,546,000 after buying an additional 503,839 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.