Croban Decreases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Croban trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,727 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for about 1.2% of Croban’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Croban’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 6,840.0% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Capital Analysts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on KR. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.63.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the sale, the director owned 85,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,147,718.50. This trade represents a 4.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $67.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.57. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $54.88 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $68.47 and its 200 day moving average is $69.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.53%.

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.