Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $17.65 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 282,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,929 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $17,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 17,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 15,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $984,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.1%

KR opened at $61.48 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.67 billion, a PE ratio of 40.19, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.43. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $58.60 and a 1-year high of $76.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $34.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.10 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 0.69% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 91.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.87.

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.