Private Trust Co. NA Sells 211 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Private Trust Co. NA reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,993 shares of the company’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Kroger were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Monument Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth $2,901,000. Advocate Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 121,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,707,000 after purchasing an additional 17,284 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Kroger by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 51,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,716,000 after acquiring an additional 3,869 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 0.3%

KR stock opened at $69.18 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $55.60 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.12.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on KR. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Argus set a $85.00 price objective on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Barclays began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on Kroger and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.