Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 22,093 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 64.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,993 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,093 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Kroger by 102.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 168,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,079,000 after acquiring an additional 85,223 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 2,313.4% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 138,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,964,000 after purchasing an additional 133,159 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 43.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 72,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,870,000 after purchasing an additional 21,876 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth $480,000. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 85.0% in the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 857,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,828,000 after purchasing an additional 394,060 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 target price (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $67.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

Kroger Trading Up 1.5%

Kroger stock opened at $71.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.90, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.62. 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.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 0.54%.The firm had revenue of $33.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.750-4.800 EPS. Analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 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.