Federated Hermes Inc. Has $35.66 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 497,093 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,845 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Kroger worth $35,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $147,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 7.0% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,042,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 10.6% during the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 9,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after buying an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of KR opened at $63.41 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.02 billion, a PE ratio of 58.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.58. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $57.69 and a 12-month high of $74.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $33.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.27 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 0.54%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.750-4.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 129.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KR. Roth Mkm raised Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Argus set a $85.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.39.

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.