The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Purchased by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 39.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,344 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,920 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $518,267,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in Kroger by 101.7% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 299.6% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,420,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,622,000 after buying an additional 1,814,721 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at $120,965,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 95.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,434,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,127 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 26th. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 target price on Kroger and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.13.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $63.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.33, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $58.12 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.72.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.27 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 0.54%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.750-4.800 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Company Profile

The Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) is one of the largest supermarket operators in the United States, offering a wide range of retail grocery and related services. Founded in Cincinnati in 1883 by Bernard Kroger, the company operates a portfolio of supermarket and multi-department store banners and provides customers with fresh foods, packaged groceries, deli and bakery items, meat and seafood, produce, and prepared foods. Kroger’s stores commonly include pharmacy services and fuel centers, positioning the company as a broad-based neighborhood retail destination for everyday needs.

In addition to traditional in-store retailing, Kroger manufactures and distributes a variety of private-label brands and operates its own food production and supply-chain facilities.