Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Increases Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 833,489 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,910 shares during the quarter. Kroger makes up about 0.4% of Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned approximately 0.13% of Kroger worth $56,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 87.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Kroger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Evercore set a $77.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Seven research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.93.

Kroger Trading Up 1.2%

Kroger stock opened at $69.07 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $58.60 and a one year high of $74.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.73 and its 200 day moving average is $65.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.71 billion, a PE ratio of 63.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 129.63%.

Kroger Company 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.