World Investment Advisors Has $523,000 Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 13.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,286 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Kroger were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 6,840.0% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 10,425.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective 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 increased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays began coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.50.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $63.57 on Monday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.11. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $55.69 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The firm had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. The business’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, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid 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 payout ratio is 35.53%.

Kroger Company 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.