Kroger shares gain for a second straight session on Wednesday, grocer explores partnership with Walgreens Boots Alliance

According to an announcement by Kroger Company (KR) on Tuesday, the grocer intends to team up with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, as it explores new ways to lure more customers to its stores amid fierce competition from on-line retailer Amazon.com Inc.

The partnership will enable Kroger’s clients to place an order on-line and then pick up the items ordered at certain stores of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.

The shares of Kroger Company closed higher for a second consecutive trading session in New York on Wednesday. The stock went up 1.03% ($0.30) to $29.38, after touching an intraday high at $29.61, or a price level not seen since September 26th ($29.65).

Shares of Kroger Company have risen 7.03% so far in 2018 compared with a 9.42% gain for the underlying index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Kroger’s stock retreated 20.46%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

According to Kroger, the pilot program is to be tested in 13 Walgreens stores in proximity to Kroger’s headquarters in Cincinnati.

Kroger’s ”Our Brands” range, including the Simple Truth organic food brand, will also be made available for purchase at the Walgreens stores, the US grocer said.

According to CNN Money, the 25 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Kroger Company’s stock price, have a median target of $30.00, with a high estimate of $36.00 and a low estimate of $25.00. The median estimate represents a 2.11% upside compared to the closing price of $29.38 on October 3rd.

The same media also reported that 17 out of 28 surveyed investment analysts had rated Kroger Company’s stock as “Hold”, while 10 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the Kroger stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $29.43
R2 – $29.48
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $29.52
R4 (Long Breakout) – $29.67
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $29.83
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $29.91

S1 – $29.33
S2 – $29.28
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $29.24
S4 (Short Breakout) – $29.09
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $28.93
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $28.85

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Kroger Company (KR) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $29.34
R1 – $30.11
R2 – $31.11
R3 – $31.88
R4 – $32.65

S1 – $28.34
S2 – $27.57
S3 – $26.57
S4 – $25.57