Jefferies Raises Kroger Price Target Following Earnings

On Friday, analysts at Jefferies raised the price target on The Kroger Co. KR from $55 to $64 and maintained the Hold rating following the company’s third-quarter financial results.

Mark Wiltamuth finds Kroger’s upbeat results were driven by strong ID sales and record fuel margins of $0.23 per gallon. The raised price target reflects Kroger’s ID sales strength and execution.

The analyst notes other considerations include:

• Kroger is No. 2 in US grocery sales.
• Kroger has a track record of growing market share, even in Wal-Mart markets.
• Wiltamuth estimates a 5-7 year lead on loyalty card data analytics with dunnhumby partner.

Shares of Kroger recently traded at $61.06, up 0.5 percent.