Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,309,093 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,904 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.65% of Kroger worth $290,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $518,267,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Kroger by 6.0% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,680,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,843,000 after acquiring an additional 265,127 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 7.9% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,126,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,028,000 after acquiring an additional 300,784 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.9% during the second quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 2,956,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,044,000 after acquiring an additional 83,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Kroger by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,743,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,763,000 after purchasing an additional 260,753 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $61.74 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $58.60 and a 52-week high of $74.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The stock has a market cap of $39.07 billion, a PE ratio of 57.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.53.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $33.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Kroger’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. On average, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.80.

About Kroger

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.