The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Sold by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

Key Points

• AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. by 14.7% in the second quarter, now owning approximately 0.07% of the company worth $33.3 million.
• Kroger's stock received a downgrade from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" by Wall Street Zen, with an average price target of $73.53 from analysts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.0%, with the next payment scheduled for December 1st.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 14.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 464,163 shares of the company's stock after selling 80,029 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned about 0.07% of Kroger worth $33,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter valued at $175,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 31.3% during the second quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter valued at $300,000. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 26.2% during the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 9,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030 shares during the period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter valued at $208,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays started 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. Finally, Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.53.

Kroger Stock Up 3.0%

KR stock opened at $69.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.09. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $55.19 and a 52 week high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

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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