Private Management Group Inc. Decreases Stake in The Kroger Co. $KR

Private Management Group Inc. reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 56.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,451 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $66.05 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $43.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $66.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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. 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 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. Wall Street Zen lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 26th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.