S Bank Fund Management Ltd Reduces Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• S Bank Fund Management Ltd has reduced its position in The Kroger Co. by 18.7%, selling 13,832 shares to hold a total of 60,000 shares worth approximately $4.3 million as of the end of the second quarter.
• Kroger reported earnings of $1.04 per share, exceeding the expected $1.00, but its revenue fell short of estimates at $33.94 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35, set to be paid on December 1st, with a current annualized yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of approximately 35.53%.

S Bank Fund Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,832 shares during the period. S Bank Fund Management Ltd's holdings in Kroger were worth $4,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $967,863,000 after acquiring an additional 186,302 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Kroger by 85.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company's stock worth $433,065,000 after buying an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 0.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,067,209 shares of the company's stock worth $342,999,000 after buying an additional 31,477 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in Kroger by 101.7% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company's stock worth $276,485,000 after buying an additional 2,059,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the first quarter worth approximately $178,385,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $69.05 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $55.60 and a 1-year high of $74.90. The company's fifty day moving average price is $68.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.09.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Roth Capital raised Kroger from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.53.

Kroger Company 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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