Croban Decreases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Croban decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,727 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises about 1.2% of Croban’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Croban’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Kroger by 85.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the first quarter valued at $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in Kroger by 101.7% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,059,574 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Kroger by 80.7% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,185,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,768,000 after acquiring an additional 976,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in Kroger during the first quarter valued at $62,730,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE KR opened at $67.88 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market cap of $44.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.57. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $54.88 and a 12 month high of $74.90.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,718.50. This represents a 4.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Argus set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.63.

Kroger 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.