Townsend & Associates Inc Buys New Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Townsend & Associates Inc acquired a new position in The Kroger Co., purchasing 193,543 shares valued at approximately $13.8 million during the 2nd quarter.
• Analysts have set various price targets for Kroger, with Morgan Stanley at $76.00 and Jefferies Financial Group at $83.00, indicating a Moderate Buy rating consensus.
• Kroger recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, which will be paid on December 1st, representing an annualized yield of 2.0%.

Townsend & Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 193,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,831,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFC Advisors LLC increased its position in Kroger by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in Kroger by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 58,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,225,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 19,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded Kroger from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.50.

Kroger Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of KR opened at $69.13 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $55.60 and a 52 week high of $74.90. 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 company has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $68.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The company's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

About Kroger

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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