Kroger (NYSE:KR) Downgraded by Melius Research to “Strong Sell”

Kroger (NYSE:KR) was downgraded by investment analysts at Melius Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.39.

Kroger Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $67.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $48.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Kroger has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.58 and a 200 day moving average of $60.65.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $1,047,389.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 89,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,846,648.55. The trade was a 15.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.