5 Stocks to Watch on Friday

1. The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) is up 2.8% as of 10:25 AM ET after the Cincinnati, Ohio-based grocery retailer was upgraded from a Neutral to a Buy rating by Robert Ohmes at Bank of America. The analyst also revised the price target on The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by nearly 23% to $75, as opposed to $61 previously. The target price reflects a potential upside of over 25% from the last closing price.

Ohmes anticipates a higher level of grocery inflation to continue until the first half of next year. This is based on rising prices of underlying commodities along with fertilizer prices. The analyst further expects the consumer to absorb this increase in prices as the US hourly wage rate has also increased by over 6%. Ohmes summed up his analysis by stating that more people are opting for retailers with greater variety as they are looking to shift their consumption to economical offerings.

The number of hedge funds holding a stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has increased to 41 as of Q4 2021, up from 39 in the preceding quarter.

You can also take a peek at the 10 Safe Stocks To Invest in For The Long-Term in 2022 and 10 Stocks to Buy According to Canyon Capital Advisors.

Follow Insider Monkey on Twitter