The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 392,925 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,382 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.06% of Kroger worth $26,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth approximately $518,267,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 66.6% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,255,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,245,000 after buying an additional 2,100,444 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Kroger by 6.0% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,680,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,843,000 after buying an additional 265,127 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.0% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,309,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,476,000 after buying an additional 41,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 7.9% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,126,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,028,000 after acquiring an additional 300,784 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on KR shares. Morgan Stanley set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, February 9th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.07.

Kroger Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $69.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.45, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.62. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $58.60 and a 12-month high of $74.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $63.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.