Geode Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Geode Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,348,054 shares of the company’s stock after selling 711,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,167,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Kroger by 85.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,065,000 after buying an additional 2,945,848 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth about $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 101.7% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059,574 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $120,965,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $65.43 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.72. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $57.08 and a 52 week high of $74.90. The stock has a market cap of $43.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The business had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays started coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Argus set a $85.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.50.

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.