Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Raises Stake in The Kroger Co. $KR

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 855,810 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 267,434 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $57,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Kroger by 102.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 168,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,079,000 after acquiring an additional 85,223 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 72,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,870,000 after acquiring an additional 21,876 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 85.0% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 857,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,828,000 after purchasing an additional 394,060 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 401.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 19,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 15,586 shares during the period. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 64.7% during the third quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 45,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,051,000 after purchasing an additional 17,777 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of KR opened at $72.16 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $58.60 and a one year high of $74.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $45.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.08. Kroger had a net margin of 0.69% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The business had revenue of $34.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 91.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KR. Evercore set a $77.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Kroger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.56.

Key Kroger News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore raised its price target on KR to $83 and reiterated an Outperform rating, citing the company’s guidance for modest comparable‑sales growth (1%–2%) for 2026 — a near‑term analyst vote of confidence. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup published a bullish forecast for Kroger, highlighting upside potential in the stock — supportive for medium‑term price appreciation if execution continues. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New CEO Greg Foran outlined five growth priorities and pledged changes to boost customer loyalty; Kroger also relaunched a Customer Appreciation Week with daily digital deals — these moves aim to drive traffic and margin improvement. Article Title Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger won new retail placements from CPG brands (example: Hurray’s GIRL BEER expanding into Kroger), which can incrementally boost assortment and non‑food sales. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Ocado, whose exclusive technical relationship with Kroger ended last year, is pitching a scaled‑down store‑based automation model to other U.S. retailers — signals about third‑party automation partners but not an immediate operational hit to Kroger. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market pieces assessing Kroger’s valuation note solid earnings/guide and capital returns versus recent rally — useful context that helps explain mixed analyst views on upside from current levels. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha published a downgrade: while acknowledging strong e‑commerce growth, the piece argues Kroger looks fairly valued after its rally — negative for sentiment and a potential headwind if other analysts follow. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The USDA expanded a recall of frozen fried rice that includes Kroger‑branded product SKUs — a small but tangible operational/recall cost and reputational item to monitor. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several local crime incidents at Kroger locations (attempted assaults, robberies, and customers fending off attackers) have been reported across markets — potential reputational and local security costs if trends persist. Article Title Article Title

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.