T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $335,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFC Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 1.6% in the first quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 46.7% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 2.8% in the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Kroger Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE KR traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $67.41. 6,584,244 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,902,458. 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 one year low of $50.69 and a one year high of $74.90. The company's 50 day moving average is $71.18 and its 200 day moving average is $68.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.59.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%.The firm's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.
Kroger Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.15%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Kroger news, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $622,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,788,314. This represents a 6.62% 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 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Capital boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. 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, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.58.
Read Our Latest Analysis on KR
Kroger Profile
(
Free Report)
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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