Wealth Watch Advisors INC Purchases New Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,863,000 after purchasing an additional 186,302 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Kroger by 85.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,065,000 after buying an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $342,999,000 after buying an additional 31,477 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings 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 valued at $276,485,000 after buying an additional 2,059,574 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $178,385,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $67.09 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $67.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.17. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $55.60 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The company has a market capitalization of $44.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 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.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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 company had revenue of $33.94 billion during 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%.The firm’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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 year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid 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 2.1%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, September 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Roth Mkm raised Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Roth Capital raised Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten research 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.