Credit Agricole S A Acquires 78,299 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in The Kroger Co. by 33.8% in Q1, owning 310,255 shares valued at approximately $21 million.
• Kroger recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, raising it from the previous $0.32, with an upcoming ex-dividend date on August 15.
• Analysts generally hold a "Hold" consensus rating for Kroger, with a target price range between $70.53 and $83.00 from various research firms.

Credit Agricole S A increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 33.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 310,255 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 78,299 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Kroger were worth $21,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in Kroger by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 30,563 shares of the company's stock worth $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 57,463 shares of the company's stock worth $3,514,000 after purchasing an additional 7,344 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Kroger by 92.0% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 47,881 shares of the company's stock worth $2,928,000 after purchasing an additional 22,946 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.58.

Kroger Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $1.9870 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.4330. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,981,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,605,369. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $45.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $50.69 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.56.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.15%.

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.