The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Acquired by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 38.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,061 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,762 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 10,425.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $66.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.65. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $57.08 and a 52-week high of $74.90. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Evercore ISI reduced 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Argus set a $85.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.