Efficient Advisors LLC Makes New $403,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. $KR

Efficient Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,863,000 after buying an additional 186,302 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 85.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,067,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,999,000 after acquiring an additional 31,477 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.7% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,059,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the first quarter valued at $178,385,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $64.89 on Friday. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $57.08 and a 52 week high of $74.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $66.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its 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 business 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 for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on KR. Roth Capital upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.