Vanguard Group Inc. Has $4.82 Billion Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 77,169,425 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 868,529 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Kroger worth $4,821,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 56,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,807,000 after purchasing an additional 16,270 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $201,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 97,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,978,000 after acquiring an additional 10,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,840,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Kroger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.56.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $65.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $70.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.81. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $58.60 and a 1 year high of $76.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $34.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.10 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 0.69% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 91.50%.

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.