Investment Management Corp of Ontario Purchases 87,732 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 290.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,940 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 87,732 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 6,840.0% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 10,425.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 87.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down from $78.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.39.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $63.41 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.17. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $57.69 and a 1-year high of $74.90. The company has a market cap of $42.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.72, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 129.63%.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.