29,633 Shares in The Kroger Co. $KR Bought by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 29,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,387,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,562,000 after purchasing an additional 5,118 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 69.4% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 31,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,145,000 after acquiring an additional 13,041 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $434,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 9.0% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 15,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Trust Co lifted its position in Kroger by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 40,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,729,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:KR opened at $71.17 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $58.60 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.17.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.27 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 0.54%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.750-4.800 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 129.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.07.

Kroger Profile

The Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) is one of the largest supermarket operators in the United States, offering a wide range of retail grocery and related services. Founded in Cincinnati in 1883 by Bernard Kroger, the company operates a portfolio of supermarket and multi-department store banners and provides customers with fresh foods, packaged groceries, deli and bakery items, meat and seafood, produce, and prepared foods. Kroger’s stores commonly include pharmacy services and fuel centers, positioning the company as a broad-based neighborhood retail destination for everyday needs.

In addition to traditional in-store retailing, Kroger manufactures and distributes a variety of private-label brands and operates its own food production and supply-chain facilities.