American Century Companies Inc. Has $127.37 Million Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 55.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,775,719 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 633,422 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.27% of Kroger worth $127,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 6,840.0% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 10,425.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $64.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $57.69 and a 52 week high of $74.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $66.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.37. The company has a market capitalization of $42.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. The business’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. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid 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 2.2%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KR. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Argus set a $85.00 price objective on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

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.