First National Bank of Hutchinson Reduces Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• First National Bank of Hutchinson decreased its stake in The Kroger Co. by 17.9%, holding 43,089 shares after selling 9,392 shares in the second quarter.
• The Kroger Co. plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share on December 1st, marking a 2.0% dividend yield.
• Recent analyst ratings show a consensus of Moderate Buy for Kroger, with average target prices ranging from $75.00 to $85.00.

First National Bank of Hutchinson reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 17.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,089 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,392 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for approximately 1.9% of First National Bank of Hutchinson's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. First National Bank of Hutchinson's holdings in Kroger were worth $3,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Kroger by 1.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company's stock worth $967,863,000 after buying an additional 186,302 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Kroger by 85.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company's stock worth $433,065,000 after buying an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 0.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,067,209 shares of the company's stock worth $342,999,000 after buying an additional 31,477 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in Kroger by 101.7% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company's stock worth $276,485,000 after buying an additional 2,059,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the first quarter worth about $178,385,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Argus set a $85.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.50.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $69.13 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.60 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.11. The company has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.53%.

Kroger 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.