Banco Santander S.A. Has $17.58 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 245,084 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 111,620 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $17,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in Kroger by 6,840.0% during the 2nd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 10,425.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on KR. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Saturday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

Kroger Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $67.09 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.57. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.17. 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 earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.94 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.53%.

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.