8,983 Shares in The Kroger Co. $KR Purchased by ABN Amro Investment Solutions

ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $606,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Kroger by 102.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 168,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,079,000 after purchasing an additional 85,223 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings 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 valued at $9,964,000 after buying an additional 133,159 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 43.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 72,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,870,000 after buying an additional 21,876 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $480,000. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 85.0% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 857,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,828,000 after acquiring an additional 394,060 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $67.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.07.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $71.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.14. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $58.60 and a 52-week high of $74.90.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued 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%.

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.