The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Bought by Mufg Securities Americas Inc.

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,576 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,792 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its position in 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. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 10,425.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday. Roth Mkm upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.50.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $66.05 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $57.69 and a 1 year high of $74.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55. 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 50-day simple moving average of $66.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The firm 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 earnings per share. 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. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid 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 (DPR) is currently 35.53%.

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.