Kestra Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in The Kroger Co. by 13.4%, now owning 78,851 shares valued at $5.34 million, highlighting growing institutional interest in the stock.
• Kroger recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, a positive change from the previous $0.32, indicating a better return for shareholders.
• Analyst ratings for Kroger are mixed, with seven analysts giving a Buy rating and twelve issuing a Hold rating, alongside a consensus price target of $70.58.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,851 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,326 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $5,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compound Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 8,531 shares of the company's stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The raised its position in shares of Kroger by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 25,865 shares of the company's stock worth $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $650,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 965,081 shares of the company's stock worth $65,327,000 after purchasing an additional 15,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $335,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Melius raised shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.58.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8%

KR stock traded down $0.57 on Thursday, hitting $67.41. 6,584,244 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,902,458. 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 Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $50.69 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The business's fifty day moving average is $71.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Kroger's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 38.15%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% 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 business's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last quarter. Company 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.