The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Purchased by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 299.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,871 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,131 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 85.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945,848 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,485,000 after buying an additional 2,059,574 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 80.7% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth $62,730,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total value of $1,890,387.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $66.30 on Friday. 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 Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $54.88 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.98. The company has a market cap of $43.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.