MYDA Advisors LLC Makes New $1.08 Million Investment in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• MYDA Advisors LLC acquired 16,000 shares of The Kroger Co. in Q1, totaling approximately $1,083,000.
• Kroger's stock experienced a 1.5% decline and had a market capitalization of $44.90 billion, with a current price of $67.93.
• The company declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, up from $0.32, reflecting a yield of 2.1%.

MYDA Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,083,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company's stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Kroger by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 8.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 307,790 shares of the company's stock worth $20,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24,849 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Kroger by 4.0% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,967 shares of the company's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 67.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 20th. Seven investment 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, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.58.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $67.83. 5,420,800 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,686,693. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $50.69 and a 1 year high of $74.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.70.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%.The company had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. Kroger's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is 38.15%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $622,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,761 shares in the company, valued at $8,788,314. The trade was a 6.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is owned by 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.