Kroger price target lowered to $57 from $58 at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman lowered the firm’s price target on Kroger (KR) to $57 from $58 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm, which says its investment thesis is unchanged following Q1 results, adds that the risk reward “skews positive within the context of our Equal-weight rating,” calling Kroger’s valuation “undemanding” and calling out the pending Albertsons (ACI) merger as a “likely near-term catalyst.”