Ieq Capital LLC Lowers Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 30th, 2023

Ieq Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) by 33.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,698 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,283 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Kroger by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 12,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 29,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,672,000 after buying an additional 6,764 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in Kroger by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 14,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,443,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 7,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 78.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $48.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $34.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $41.81 and a 52-week high of $55.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $47.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.21.

Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $34.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.89 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 1.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 12th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $50.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Northcoast Research upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Kroger from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total transaction of $137,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 40,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,842,747.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $1,102,850.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 194,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,348,140.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total value of $137,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 40,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,842,747.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 201,505 shares of company stock valued at $9,622,597 over the last quarter. 1.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Profile

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The Kroger Co engages in the operation of supermarkets and multi-department stores. Its brands include Big K, Check This Out?, Heritage Farm, Simple Truth, and Simple Truth Organic. The company was founded by Barney Kroger in 1883 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH.