Integrity Alliance LLC. Acquires Shares of 8,168 The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Integrity Alliance LLC acquired 8,168 shares of The Kroger Co., valued at approximately $553,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Kroger recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.35 per share, up from $0.32, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• Recent analyst upgrades have set target prices for Kroger shares, with recommendations ranging from a "hold" with a target of $70.00 to a "buy" rating with a target of $83.00.

Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $553,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Capital Analysts LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 46.7% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. The trade was a 33.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.58.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $68.38 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $54.51 and a 52 week high of $74.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.15%.

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.

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