The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Sold by Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC trimmed its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 79.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,200 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFC Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.9% during the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the second quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.3% during the second quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 58,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,225,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 0.9% during the second quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 19,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $64.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $57.08 and a 1 year 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.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger’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. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KR. Wall Street Zen lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 26th. Roth Mkm upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Roth Capital raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, September 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.