Advocate Group LLC Purchases 17,284 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Advocate Group LLC increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. by 16.6%, purchasing an additional 17,284 shares, bringing its total ownership to 121,392 shares valued at approximately $8.7 million.
• Several hedge funds have also raised their stakes in Kroger, contributing to institutional ownership, which now stands at 80.93% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Kroger's stock rating to "buy" and set price targets ranging from $75 to $85, with a current consensus target price of $73.63.

Advocate Group LLC increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 16.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,392 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,284 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for 1.6% of Advocate Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Advocate Group LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $8,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company's stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Kroger by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company's stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 51,805 shares of the company's stock worth $3,716,000 after buying an additional 3,869 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in Kroger by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 115,687 shares of the company's stock worth $8,298,000 after buying an additional 5,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 24,468 shares of the company's stock worth $1,755,000 after buying an additional 10,039 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm upgraded Kroger from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. 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 report on Wednesday, September 17th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Barclays assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus set a $85.00 price objective on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the sale, the director owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,718.50. The trade was a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $67.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.47 and a 200 day moving average of $69.07. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $54.88 and a 52 week high of $74.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. 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 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.

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