Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,842,907 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155,705 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.28% of Kroger worth $132,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 6,840.0% in the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of KR opened at $67.09 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.60 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90. The firm has a market cap of $44.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 35.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Argus set a $85.00 price objective on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Roth Capital upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.50.

Kroger 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.