Portfolio Design Labs LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1,778.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 75,652 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 71,625 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises 1.1% of Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,863,000 after buying an additional 186,302 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger during the second quarter worth approximately $518,267,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Kroger by 85.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945,848 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,067,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,999,000 after purchasing an additional 31,477 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,126,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,028,000 after purchasing an additional 300,784 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock opened at $67.55 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $57.69 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The firm has a market cap of $44.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Roth Capital raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.39.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.