Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Decreases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI decreased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 27.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,851 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,164 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,169,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,821,546,000 after purchasing an additional 868,529 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Kroger by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,948,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,153,622,000 after buying an additional 386,503 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 13,398,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $837,113,000 after buying an additional 1,360,946 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,296,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $889,878,000 after buying an additional 53,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $470,561,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $57.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43. The company has a market capitalization of $35.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.44. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $54.15 and a twelve month high of $76.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $46.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.59 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 44.33% and a net margin of 0.71%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Kroger’s payout ratio is 82.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. UBS Group set a $63.00 target price on Kroger and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Kroger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

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.