Hilltop National Bank Buys Shares of 17,183 The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co., purchasing 17,183 shares valued at approximately $1.23 million during the second quarter.
• Kroger's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.04, surpassing analyst expectations, and the company has set its FY 2025 guidance between $4.700 and $4.800 EPS.
• The firm plans to distribute a quarterly $0.35 dividend on December 1st, with an annualized yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 35.53%.

Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 17,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in Kroger by 6,840.0% in the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital Analysts LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 46.7% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $66.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.98. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $54.88 and a 52 week high of $74.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Roth Capital raised 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. Roth Mkm raised 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, September 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.63.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the company'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 sale, the director owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,718.50. This represents a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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