Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $2.30 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,151 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 85.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945,848 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,059,574 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $120,965,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 80.7% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,185,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,768,000 after acquiring an additional 976,100 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $68.56 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $55.60 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The company has a market capitalization of $45.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus set a $85.00 target price on Kroger in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Roth Capital raised Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.50.

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.