Demars Financial Group LLC Sells 389,696 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Demars Financial Group LLC significantly reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by selling 389,696 shares, bringing its ownership down by 98.5% during the second quarter.
• Kroger reported a quarterly EPS of $1.04, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite revenue slightly below estimates at $33.94 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, set to be paid on December 1st, representing a 2.0% yield to investors.

Demars Financial Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 98.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,952 shares of the company's stock after selling 389,696 shares during the quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Kroger by 85.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the first quarter valued at $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in Kroger by 101.7% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059,574 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Kroger during the second quarter valued at $120,965,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Kroger by 80.7% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,185,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,768,000 after purchasing an additional 976,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.4%

KR stock opened at $69.13 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $55.60 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The firm's 50-day moving average is $68.04 and its 200 day moving average is $69.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS 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 paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on KR. Roth Capital upgraded shares of 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.50.

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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