The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Purchased by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 383.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,209 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,856 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $518,267,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Kroger by 66.6% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,255,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,245,000 after buying an additional 2,100,444 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 stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $120,965,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 95.6% in the second 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, December 5th. Evercore set a $77.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.07.

Kroger Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $71.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $63.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.17. The company has a market capitalization of $45.04 billion, a PE ratio of 65.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.62. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $58.60 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 anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 129.63%.

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.