DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Acquires 25,729 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,954,861 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,729 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.30% of Kroger worth $139,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Kroger by 1.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,863,000 after acquiring an additional 186,302 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Kroger by 85.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,067,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,999,000 after acquiring an additional 31,477 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in Kroger by 101.7% during 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 bought a new position in Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $178,385,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $69.18 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.12. The company has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57. 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 1 year low of $55.60 and a 1 year high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

Kroger Company Profile

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.