United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Grows Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• United Super Pty Ltd dramatically increased its Kroger stake by 8,934.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 388,471 shares valued at about $24.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 80.93% of Kroger shares; several large firms, including Vanguard and Wellington, also added to positions.
• Kroger reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, posting $1.28 EPS versus $1.20 expected, while revenue rose 1.2% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, yielding 2.2% annually.

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 8,934.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 388,471 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 384,171 shares during the quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund owned about 0.06% of Kroger worth $24,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,169,425 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,821,546,000 after buying an additional 868,529 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Kroger by 61.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,367,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,249,307,000 after purchasing an additional 12,652,261 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,948,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,153,622,000 after purchasing an additional 386,503 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 15.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,327,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,515,000 after purchasing an additional 865,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 66.6% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,255,084 shares of the company's stock valued at $354,245,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100,444 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of KR opened at $63.65 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $58.60 and a 1-year high of $76.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.78 and a 200 day moving average of $66.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.60, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $34.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.10 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 0.69% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 91.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Kroger from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $70.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.87.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.