Strs Ohio Cuts Stake in The Kroger Co. $KR

Strs Ohio reduced its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 495,766 shares of the company’s stock after selling 430,959 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned about 0.08% of Kroger worth $35,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in Kroger by 6,840.0% during the 2nd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 10,425.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.15. The firm has a market cap of $43.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.57. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $55.69 and a 1 year 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.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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 firm 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 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 dividend yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KR shares. Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays started coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 26th. Ten investment 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, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.