Sanders Morris Harris LLC Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. $KR

Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,244,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,243,000 after buying an additional 123,007 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 115.9% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 9,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 5,294 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in Kroger by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 618,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,880,000 after acquiring an additional 44,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Kroger by 85.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.18.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8%

KR stock opened at $62.15 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $39.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.54, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.93. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $58.12 and a 52 week high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The company’s 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 research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Kroger’s 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.