Invesco LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Invesco LLC lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,559 shares of the company’s stock after selling 681 shares during the quarter. Invesco LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Kroger by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 6,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $383,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Kroger by 110.5% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $65.43 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.00. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $54.88 and a 52 week high of $74.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The business’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 35.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $1,890,387.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.63.

Kroger Company Profile

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.