The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Acquired by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 28.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,869,081 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 409,045 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $134,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 85.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 101.7% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,059,574 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at $120,965,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Kroger by 80.7% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,185,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,768,000 after purchasing an additional 976,100 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $67.44 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $44.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.55. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $57.08 and a 12-month high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The business had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus set a $85.00 price target on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.