The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Acquired by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 102.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 168,395 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 85,223 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Kroger were worth $12,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 6,840.0% during the 2nd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in Kroger in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 10,425.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 87.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $61.27 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $58.12 and a 12-month high of $74.90. The company has a market cap of $40.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 0.54%.The company had revenue of $33.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.750-4.800 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 129.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $77.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.56.

Kroger Company 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.