Barings LLC Takes $1.50 Million Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Barings LLC acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 22,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,498,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in Kroger by 87.8% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore set a $77.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, February 9th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $67.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $66.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $41.96 billion, a PE ratio of 61.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.62. 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 Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $58.60 and a 1-year high of $74.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.12.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.