Westbourne Investments Inc. Makes New $504,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Westbourne Investments Inc. has acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co. by purchasing 7,450 shares valued at approximately $504,000 in the first quarter.
• Kroger recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.35, representing an annualized dividend of $1.40 and a yield of 2.1%.
• Analysts have mixed views on Kroger, with seven giving it a Buy rating and adjusting price targets, including Evercore ISI raising it to $82.00.

Westbourne Investments Inc. purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $504,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Kroger by 1.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company's stock worth $967,863,000 after purchasing an additional 186,302 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Kroger by 85.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company's stock worth $433,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Kroger by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,363,964 shares of the company's stock worth $389,156,000 after purchasing an additional 865,699 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 0.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,067,209 shares of the company's stock worth $342,999,000 after purchasing an additional 31,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $277,989,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 85,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,147,718.50. This represents a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 33.54% 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. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating 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 reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.58.

Kroger Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of KR traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.38. 8,310,559 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,735,538. The firm has a market cap of $45.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $54.51 and a 12-month high of $74.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $70.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.89.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 35.53%.

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.