Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Has $989,000 Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 279.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,795 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,156 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 85.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,065,000 after buying an additional 2,945,848 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in Kroger by 101.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,059,574 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $120,965,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Kroger by 80.7% in 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. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:KR opened at $68.06 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $67.68 and its 200 day moving average is $69.19. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $55.60 and a 12 month high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion for 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%. Kroger’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Argus set a $85.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.