National Pension Service Acquires 91,946 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

National Pension Service boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,439,658 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,946 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Kroger were worth $97,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $518,267,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 299.6% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,420,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,622,000 after buying an additional 1,814,721 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $120,965,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 95.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,434,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,450,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $62.82 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.75 billion, a PE ratio of 58.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.61. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $58.60 and a 52-week high of $74.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.88.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $78.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $67.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.80.

About Kroger

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.