abrdn plc Has $37.33 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

abrdn plc boosted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 816,590 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 144,448 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.11% of Kroger worth $37,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 370.1% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 430.8% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 613.0% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $56.93 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.96. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The company has a market cap of $41.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

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.