Caxton Associates LLP Takes $481,000 Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co., purchasing 7,101 shares valued at approximately $481,000.
• Kroger reported earnings of $1.04 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates of $1.00, and set FY 2025 guidance at $4.700-4.800 EPS.
• The company has declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, up from $0.32, representing an annual yield of 2.1%.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 1.7% in the first 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 raised its stake in Kroger by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 8.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 307,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,834,000 after purchasing an additional 24,849 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Kroger by 4.0% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,967 shares of the company's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 67.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on KR shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Roth Capital raised Kroger from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.05.

Kroger Trading Up 0.2%

KR stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,978,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,118,165. The stock has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $54.56 and a 52 week high of $74.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Kroger's payout ratio is 35.53%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,224,222.76. This represents a 33.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,448,791.92. This trade represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Company 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.