The Kroger Co. $KR is Liberty One Investment Management LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in The Kroger Co. by 1.4%, making it the firm's 2nd largest position, comprising about 3.4% of their investment portfolio.
• Kroger reported earnings of $1.04 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding expectations and indicating a slight revenue increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.0%, set to be paid on December 1st.

Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 463,607 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,528 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for about 3.4% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Liberty One Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Kroger worth $33,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. IFC Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in Kroger by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in Kroger by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 58,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,225,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the second quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 19,312 shares of the company's stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $69.18 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $67.93 and its 200 day moving average is $69.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $55.60 and a 52-week 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.Kroger's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on KR shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.50.

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.

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