Jacobi Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Jacobi Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 1.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Kroger by 3.7% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 8.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 307,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,834,000 after purchasing an additional 24,849 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Kroger by 4.0% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 67.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius raised Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.58.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. This trade represents a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total value of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares in the company, valued at $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $68.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $54.51 and a 1 year high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The firm had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

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.