WINTON GROUP Ltd Decreases Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

WINTON GROUP Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 50.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,769 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,932 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,863,000 after acquiring an additional 186,302 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $518,267,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Kroger by 85.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 7.9% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,126,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,028,000 after purchasing an additional 300,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.7% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059,574 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $63.41 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $57.69 and a 1 year high of $74.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.37 and its 200 day moving average is $68.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $33.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Kroger’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, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 26th. Roth Capital raised 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. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price (down 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.39.

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.