1248 Management LLC Invests $631,000 in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• 1248 Management LLC acquired 9,326 shares of The Kroger Co., valued at approximately $631,000, according to their latest filing with the SEC.
• Insiders have sold a total of 198,948 shares of Kroger in the last three months, which represents a significant decrease in their ownership stakes.
• Kroger recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, up from the previous $0.32, signaling a 2.1% dividend yield.

1248 Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $631,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Capital Analysts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KR. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.58.

Kroger Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.38. 8,310,559 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,930,176. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $54.51 and a 52-week high of $74.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.39 and a 200-day moving average of $68.93. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The company had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares in the company, valued at $13,127,098.68. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.