Swedbank AB Sells 55,606 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 11.5% during the second quarter, now owning approximately 428,735 shares valued at around $30.75 million.
• Kroger reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.04, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.00, while generating revenue of $33.94 billion.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, set to be distributed on December 1st, representing an annualized dividend of $1.40 with a yield of 2.1%.

Swedbank AB reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 11.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 428,735 shares of the company's stock after selling 55,606 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned about 0.06% of Kroger worth $30,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Capital Analysts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed 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. Argus set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.70.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.63. 16,278,217 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,582,479. The company has a market cap of $43.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $54.83 and a 1 year high of $74.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $69.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.00.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger 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.