The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Acquired by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,869,081 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 409,045 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.28% of Kroger worth $134,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Kroger by 85.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,059,574 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $120,965,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 80.7% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,185,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,768,000 after purchasing an additional 976,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:KR opened at $67.44 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $57.08 and a 52-week high of $74.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.55. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The firm had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.50.

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.