VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,686,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,965,000. Kroger comprises about 0.8% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,863,000 after buying an additional 186,302 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Kroger by 85.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,067,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,999,000 after acquiring an additional 31,477 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter worth $178,385,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Roth Capital upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.50.

Kroger Stock Up 0.4%

KR stock opened at $69.13 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.60 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $45.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly 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. 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.53%.

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.