Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stake in The Kroger Co. $KR

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 78.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 141,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 525,192 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $10,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Kroger by 85.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,065,000 after buying an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,485,000 after buying an additional 2,059,574 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 7,363.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,706,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $62,730,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $65.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.99. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $54.88 and a 1 year high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Kroger’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, research 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 Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.53%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,718.50. The trade was a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total value of $2,437,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 184,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 64,874 shares of company stock valued at $4,600,451. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.63.

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.