Strs Ohio Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. $KR

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 926,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,730,000. Strs Ohio owned about 0.14% of Kroger at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. IFC Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 1.7% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 0.9%

Kroger stock opened at $67.03 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.46 and its 200 day moving average is $68.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $50.69 and a one year high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 38.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 49,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KR. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.58.

Kroger Profile

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.