Hobbs Group Advisors LLC Makes New $524,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Hobbs Group Advisors LLC recently invested $524,000 in The Kroger Co. by acquiring 7,303 shares, according to their 13F filing with the SEC.
• The Kroger Co. reported earnings of $1.04 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, and has set a FY 2025 earnings guidance of $4.700-$4.800.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35, payable on December 1st, representing a yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 35.53%.

Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.3% during 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Kroger by 85.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company's stock worth $433,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,067,209 shares of the company's stock worth $342,999,000 after purchasing an additional 31,477 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 101.7% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company's stock worth $276,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth $178,385,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 85,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,147,718.50. This represents a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $67.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $68.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.07. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $54.88 and a 1 year high of $74.90. The company has a market cap of $44.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.63.

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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