Geode Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,348,054 shares of the company’s stock after selling 711,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.47% of Kroger worth $1,167,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Kroger by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Kroger by 6.7% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 351,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,771,000 after buying an additional 22,062 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 6.9% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 12,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $870,000 after buying an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in Kroger by 590.1% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 33,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,235,000 after buying an additional 28,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 26,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of KR opened at $65.43 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $57.08 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.72.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on KR. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Roth Mkm upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.50.

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.