Oppenheimer analyst Rupesh Parikh assigned a Buy rating to Kroger Company (NYSE: KR) today and set a price target of $28. The company’s shares closed on Friday at $22.42, close to its 52-week high of $36.44.
Parikh said:
“KR will report results on 9/8. We spent time updating our thoughts on the name. We continue to look favorably upon the company’s long-term prospects, but still can’t overlook the potential for a still challenging near-term outlook. Recent reports from all players point to continued gross margin pressures. As a result, our focus is again on KR’s ability to manage through a challenging backdrop and stabilize the P&L. We continue to view the name as appropriate for longer term investors given a discounted valuation and the length of time needed to drive an improvement in profitability. KR is currently ranked third within our grocery coverage after SFM and WMT given a bit more risk in the company’s ability to deliver 2H17 targets.”
According to TipRanks.com, Parikh is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 15.2% and a 60.2% success rate. Parikh covers the Services sector, focusing on stocks such as United Natural Foods, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, and Life Time Fitness.
Currently, the analyst consensus on Kroger Company is Moderate Buy and the average price target is $26.18, representing a 16.8% upside.
In a report issued on August 28, RBC Capital also reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $34 price target.
The company has a one year high of $36.44 and a one year low of $20.46. Currently, Kroger Company has an average volume of 14.72M.
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The Kroger Co. engages in the operation of retail food and drug stores, multi-department stores, jewelry stores, and convenience stores. It also manufactures and processes some of the food for sale in its supermarkets. The combination food and drug Stores are the primary food store format.