Freedom Investment Management Inc. Has $430,000 Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 16.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,999 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFC Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 1.9% during the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its holdings in Kroger by 2.0% during the second quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Cairn Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.3% during the second quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 58,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,225,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the second quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 19,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $67.09 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.17. 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 firm has a market cap of $44.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.57. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $55.60 and a 12 month high of $74.90.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, September 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Argus set a $85.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.50.

About Kroger

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.