The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Sold by Islay Capital Management LLC

Islay Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,240 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,365 shares during the quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 target price for 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 lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 26th. Argus set a $85.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $65.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $66.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.70. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $57.08 and a 12-month high of $74.90. The firm has a market cap of $43.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion for 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 for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

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.