Arrow Investment Advisors LLC Invests $284,000 in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Arrow Investment Advisors LLC has acquired 3,966 shares of The Kroger Co., valued at approximately $284,000, during the second quarter.
• Kroger reported $1.04 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $33.94 billion, slightly below expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.1%, payable on December 1st.

Arrow Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Capital Analysts LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Nine 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, Kroger presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the firm's 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the firm'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 approximately $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 102,834 shares of company stock valued at $7,350,274 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of KR stock traded up $0.91 on Tuesday, hitting $65.43. 3,494,742 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,220,241. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $54.88 and a one year high of $74.90. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $69.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The company'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. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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