The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Purchased by OFI Invest Asset Management

OFI Invest Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,522 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on KR. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Barclays began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,718.50. This trade represents a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.5%

Kroger stock opened at $67.88 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.09. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $44.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.57. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $54.88 and a 12-month high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors 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 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.