Stevens Capital Management LP Boosts Stake in The Kroger Co. $KR

Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 110.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,361 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,906 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Kroger were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. 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, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.50.

Kroger Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE KR opened at $66.05 on Friday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $66.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $57.69 and a 1-year high of $74.90. The company has a market capitalization of $43.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 35.53%.

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.