Kroger (KR) Gets A Buy Rating At Jefferies

Scott A. Mushkin, Bakley Smith and Mike Otway, analysts at Jefferies, have given a Buy rating to Kroger (NYSE: KR). The stock has been trading around $20.38 and Jefferies has a target price of $28.50 on the shares. Analysts expect sales and earnings growth to accelerate in upcoming quarters.

Risks to their target price include an increasingly competitive climate, a poor employment scenario and continuing deflation. Kroger's (KR) biggest competitor, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), is moving aggressively by selling some items below cost to boost store traffic.