Narwhal Capital Management Makes New $753,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. $KR

Narwhal Capital Management acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 10,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $753,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 51,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 115,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,298,000 after purchasing an additional 5,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 24,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 10,039 shares in the last quarter. 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 $68.13 on Thursday. 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 $68.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.01. The company has a market cap of $45.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Argus set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.63.

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.