Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Has $2.07 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,889 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFC Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.3% in the second quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 58,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,225,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the second quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 19,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.6% in the first quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 46.7% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of KR stock opened at $66.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.57. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $54.88 and a one year high of $74.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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 firm had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $1,890,387.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Roth Capital raised Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.63.

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.