Ninety One UK Ltd Decreases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Ninety One UK Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,198,638 shares of the company’s stock after selling 119,516 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned about 0.18% of Kroger worth $85,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IFC Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.7% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 58,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,225,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% in 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. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 46.7% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 85,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,718.50. This represents a 4.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.5%

KR opened at $67.41 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $54.88 and a 12-month high of $74.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, September 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.63.

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.