The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Sold by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 41.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,832 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,863,000 after buying an additional 186,302 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Kroger by 85.3% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,067,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,999,000 after purchasing an additional 31,477 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in Kroger by 101.7% in the 1st 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. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $178,385,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $63.57 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $55.69 and a 1-year high of $74.90. The stock has a market cap of $42.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $67.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger’s quarterly 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Ten 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, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.50.

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.