Kroger (NYSE:KR) Lifted to Overweight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $65.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $58.00.

KR has been the topic of several other research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an underperform rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $55.17.

Kroger Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $55.57 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $53.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.74. The stock has a market cap of $40.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.48. Kroger has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34.

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. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $372,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 101.6% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $344,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $460,000. Finally, Home Federal Bank of Tennessee purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.