Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $3.43 Million Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 21.5% during the first quarter, now owning 50,649 shares valued at approximately $3.43 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have altered their positions in Kroger, with Wellington Management Group LLP increasing their holdings by 85.3% during the same period.
• Kroger recently declared a $0.35 quarterly dividend, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend of $0.32, with shares trading up from $67.83.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,649 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,894 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $3,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Islay Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kroger by 30.5% during the first quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC now owns 19,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 4,583 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Kroger by 44.8% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 15,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 4,937 shares in the last quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 30.3% in the first quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 7,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 4.9% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 32,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Finally, Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:KR traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.85. The company had a trading volume of 4,249,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,041,995. The firm has a market cap of $44.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.59. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $70.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.73. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was 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 directly owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,448,791.92. This trade represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total value of $2,437,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,127,098.68. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Melius raised shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.58.

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.