Aberdeen Group plc Acquires 24,552 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 432,307 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,552 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.07% of Kroger worth $31,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFC Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.7% in the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.9% in the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.0% in the second quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.3% in the second quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 58,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,225,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.9% in the second quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 19,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,718.50. The trade was a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.5%

KR opened at $67.88 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $54.88 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $68.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 35.53%.

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.