Ascent Group LLC Sells 48,186 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Ascent Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 64.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,685 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,186 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth $518,267,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 299.6% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,420,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,721 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $120,965,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 95.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,434,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 80.7% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,185,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,768,000 after acquiring an additional 976,100 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $62.52 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $58.12 and a 1 year high of $74.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.64. The company has a market cap of $39.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.89, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 38.06%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business’s 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, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 5th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.13.

Kroger 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.