NatWest Group plc Purchases Shares of 99,995 The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• NatWest Group plc has acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co., purchasing 99,995 shares valued at approximately $6.77 million, making it the 24th largest position in NatWest's investment portfolio.
• The Kroger Co. recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.1%, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.32.
• Kroger reported earnings of $1.49 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, but experienced a 0.3% decline in revenue year-over-year.

NatWest Group plc acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 99,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,769,000. Kroger comprises 2.0% of NatWest Group plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 1,799 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. BOKF NA grew its stake in Kroger by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. BOKF NA now owns 57,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,383,000 after buying an additional 4,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Kroger by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 202,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,363,000 after buying an additional 71,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on KR. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.58.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $67.74. 5,575,044 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,387,920. The firm's 50 day moving average is $70.67 and its 200-day moving average is $68.82. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $50.69 and a one year high of $74.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $44.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 38.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.