The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Purchased by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) by 2.1%, acquiring an additional 4,088 shares, bringing its total to 194,354 shares valued at $13.16 million.
• Several research firms have given Kroger a positive outlook, with price targets raised to as high as $83.00, and a consensus rating indicating a majority of analysts recommend a "Buy."
• Kroger announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.35 per share, representing a 2.0% yield and reflecting the company's ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 194,354 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,088 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $13,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,464 shares of the company's stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,799 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 933,949 shares of the company's stock worth $57,111,000 after purchasing an additional 85,956 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 119.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 12,971 shares of the company's stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 7,053 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total value of $1,890,387.00. Following the sale, the director owned 99,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.74. The stock had a trading volume of 5,575,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,407,211. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $50.69 and a 12-month high of $74.90. The company has a market cap of $44.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%.The business had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.15%.

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.