Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Boosts Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in Kroger by 101.7% in Q1, acquiring over 2 million additional shares, making it the firm's 6th largest position.
• Kroger reported $1.49 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, but had a 0.3% decline in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.0%.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 101.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,084,584 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,059,574 shares during the quarter. Kroger makes up about 1.1% of Alyeska Investment Group L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned approximately 0.62% of Kroger worth $276,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Capital Analysts LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Kroger by 46.7% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 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. Barclays began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.58.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.74. The company had a trading volume of 5,575,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,407,211. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $50.69 and a 52-week high of $74.90. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.79. 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 company has a market capitalization of $44.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. 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. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 38.15%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $2,749,822.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. The trade was a 33.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.