The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Sold by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC cut its Kroger stake by 20.9% in the first quarter, selling 29,413 shares and leaving it with 111,084 shares valued at about $8.0 million.
• Kroger recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.58, just below estimates, while revenue came in at $46.12 billion, topping expectations and rising 2.2% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.39 per share from $0.35, which annualizes to $1.56 and implies a 2.6% yield.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,084 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,413 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $8,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 50,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577 shares during the last quarter. Capital Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $218,000. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $144,000. Cvfg LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 2.8% during the first quarter. Cvfg LLC now owns 11,969 shares of the company's stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kroger from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays set a $61.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.00.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $59.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.35 and a 200 day moving average of $65.74. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $54.15 and a 12 month high of $76.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $46.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.59 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 44.33% and a net margin of 0.71%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 82.35%.

Kroger Profile

The Kroger Co NYSE: KR is one of the largest supermarket operators in the United States, offering a wide range of retail grocery and related services. Founded in Cincinnati in 1883 by Bernard Kroger, the company operates a portfolio of supermarket and multi-department store banners and provides customers with fresh foods, packaged groceries, deli and bakery items, meat and seafood, produce, and prepared foods. Kroger's stores commonly include pharmacy services and fuel centers, positioning the company as a broad-based neighborhood retail destination for everyday needs.

In addition to traditional in-store retailing, Kroger manufactures and distributes a variety of private-label brands and operates its own food production and supply-chain facilities.

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