ING Groep NV Purchases New Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 29,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 10,425.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 87.8% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 445 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $67.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $78.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $71.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $63.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.88. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $58.60 and a 52-week high of $74.90. The stock has a market cap of $45.04 billion, a PE ratio of 65.90, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 0.54%.The company had revenue of $33.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.750-4.800 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 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.