The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Purchased by Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 7.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 127,329 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,850 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for approximately 1.6% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Cairn Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the second quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 19,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 4.9% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $66.17 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.33. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90. The firm has a market cap of $43.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The firm 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 earned $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger’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. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Argus set a $85.00 price target on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.50.

Kroger 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.