Captrust Financial Advisors Sells 9,074 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Captrust Financial Advisors reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,782,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,074 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Kroger were worth $173,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,169,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,821,546,000 after purchasing an additional 868,529 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 61.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,367,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,249,307,000 after purchasing an additional 12,652,261 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,948,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,153,622,000 after purchasing an additional 386,503 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 13,398,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $837,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,242,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,932,000 after purchasing an additional 122,606 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 target price on Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Kroger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $70.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.67.

Key Stories Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and options traders are highlighting Kroger as a potential earnings play, with expectations for higher Q1 earnings and no major surprise likely to the outlook, which can support sentiment if the company confirms steady execution. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger is also being mentioned in consumer-focused promotions and expansion news, including a national retail rollout for Avaline across Kroger divisions, which suggests continued relevance as a key grocery channel for brand partners. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Additional coverage around Kroger-owned Harris Teeter’s new “Aisle Adventures” shopping experience and holiday-style promotions points to efforts to drive shopper engagement and store traffic. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Oppenheimer said Kroger’s fiscal first-quarter results should come in largely in line with expectations, which may limit the stock’s upside unless the company delivers a clear beat or stronger guidance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The Humane League escalated its national campaign against Kroger and Harris Teeter over delayed cage-free egg sourcing, adding reputational pressure and potentially increasing scrutiny of the company’s supply-chain commitments. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Separate consumer coverage around Kroger’s “controversial” price-tag technology and aggressive price cuts versus Walmart may raise concerns about margin pressure if the chain leans harder into price competition. Article Title

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $64.00 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.51. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $58.60 and a one year high of $76.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.21 billion, a PE ratio of 41.83, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

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.