Bank of Nova Scotia Boosts Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 102.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,395 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,223 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Kroger were worth $12,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Monument Capital Management acquired a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $2,901,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 2,313.4% during the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 138,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,964,000 after buying an additional 133,159 shares in the last quarter. Advocate Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 121,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,707,000 after buying an additional 17,284 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $480,000. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.4% in the second quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 463,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,255,000 after buying an additional 6,528 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.56.

Kroger Stock Down 2.6%

KR stock opened at $61.27 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.60 billion, a PE ratio of 56.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.58. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $58.12 and a 12 month high of $74.90. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 0.54%.The firm had revenue of $33.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The company’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. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 129.63%.

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.