Focus Partners Wealth Boosts Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its shareholdings in The Kroger Co. by 19.5%, acquiring an additional 6,547 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing their total holdings to 40,038 shares valued at approximately $2.71 million.
• Kroger announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35, increasing the annualized dividend yield to 2.1%, up from the previous $0.32 per share.
• Analysts give Kroger an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $70.58, showing divided sentiment as seven analysts rate it a "Buy" while twelve rate it a "Hold."

Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 19.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,038 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,547 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Kroger were worth $2,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Capital Analysts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. 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. Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Kroger from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.70.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,718.50. This represents a 4.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.64. 7,235,611 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,179,867. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $54.83 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.53%.

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.