Caldwell Trust Co Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. $KR

Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,650,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in Kroger by 6,840.0% during the 2nd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Kroger during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 87.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 445 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $63.15 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.47, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.58. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $58.12 and a one year high of $74.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.00. 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 released 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 return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 0.54%.The firm had revenue of $33.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.750-4.800 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on KR. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, December 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research 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. Finally, Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.18.

Kroger 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.