193,543 Shares in The Kroger Co. $KR Purchased by Townsend & Associates Inc

Townsend & Associates Inc purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 193,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,831,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Capital Analysts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $69.13 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market cap of $45.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $55.60 and a 52-week high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on KR. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Mkm upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.