Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. $KR

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,863,000 after acquiring an additional 186,302 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 85.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the first 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,126,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,028,000 after purchasing an additional 300,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in Kroger by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,485,000 after buying an additional 2,059,574 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $67.08 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.32. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $57.69 and a 52-week high of $74.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 26th. Roth Capital upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Kroger from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.39.

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.