The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 7.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 387,279 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,907 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Kroger were worth $27,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monument Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth about $2,901,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2,313.4% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 138,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,964,000 after acquiring an additional 133,159 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 121,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,707,000 after purchasing an additional 17,284 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth $480,000. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 463,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,255,000 after purchasing an additional 6,528 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.99 on Friday. 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 $57.08 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.70. The firm has a market cap of $43.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company 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 fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

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.