abrdn plc Buys 144,448 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 816,590 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 144,448 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $37,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 370.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 430.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 613.0% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:KR opened at $56.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $41.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $53.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KR. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

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.