Narwhal Capital Management Invests $753,000 in The Kroger Co. $KR

Narwhal Capital Management bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $753,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Kroger by 85.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company's stock worth $433,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945,848 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in Kroger by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company's stock worth $276,485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,059,574 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Kroger by 80.7% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,185,530 shares of the company's stock worth $156,768,000 after acquiring an additional 976,100 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,730,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $1,890,387.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $68.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $68.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.01. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $54.88 and a twelve month high of $74.90.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.63.

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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