Empowered Funds LLC Has $6.16 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC has significantly reduced its position in The Kroger Co. by 63.0%, now holding 90,976 shares worth approximately $6.16 million.
• Kroger's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $1.49 and revenues of $45.12 billion.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.35, representing an annualized yield of 2.1%.

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 63.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,976 shares of the company's stock after selling 154,640 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $6,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Kroger by 74.9% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 33,491 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 14,344 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 239.0% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 50,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,063,000 after acquiring an additional 35,312 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $1,853,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its holdings in Kroger by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 67,194 shares of the company's stock worth $4,109,000 after purchasing an additional 6,489 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 85,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,147,718.50. This trade represents a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,642,274.40. This represents a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Capital boosted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Melius raised Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 target price on Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.58.

Kroger Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $1.15 on Friday, reaching $68.38. 8,310,559 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,735,538. The company has a market capitalization of $45.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $54.51 and a one year high of $74.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.39 and a 200 day moving average of $68.86.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The business had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

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.