Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 25,112 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,088 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,112 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 6,840.0% in the 2nd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.50.

Kroger Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $67.44 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $57.08 and a 1 year high of $74.90. The firm has a market cap of $44.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.53%.

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.