Amalgamated Bank Trims Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Amalgamated Bank lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 121,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,159 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 67.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $317,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 13.2% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.4% during the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 24,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of KR stock opened at $63.57 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.11. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $55.69 and a 1-year high of $74.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.57. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger’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, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 35.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on KR. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Roth Mkm upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.