Millington Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Millington Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,746 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,402 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for about 1.1% of Millington Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Millington Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Monument Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,901,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2,313.4% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 138,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,964,000 after purchasing an additional 133,159 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 16.6% during the second quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 121,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,707,000 after buying an additional 17,284 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth about $480,000. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 1.4% in the second quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 463,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,255,000 after buying an additional 6,528 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.7%

KR opened at $67.47 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $57.69 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.30. 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 $44.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Kroger from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.39.

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.