The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Sold by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,265 shares of the company’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Monument Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $2,901,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.7% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 8.1% in the second quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 51,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.8% in the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 115,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,298,000 after purchasing an additional 5,325 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Capital raised Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,718.50. This trade represents a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $67.88 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $54.88 and a 12-month high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.Kroger’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 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.