Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. $KR

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Kroger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 10,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 17,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 5,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group set a $63.00 target price on Kroger and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $58.58 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $35.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.44. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $54.15 and a 12 month high of $76.58.

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). Kroger had a net margin of 0.71% and a return on equity of 44.33%. The firm had revenue of $46.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Key Headlines Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger is expanding its premium food and beverage strategy, including 147 new wine shops nationwide, which could support higher-margin sales and improve customer spending mix. Kroger bets on luxury wines with 147 new wine shops nationwide
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger also made a major change to its rewards program that is intended to help shoppers, which may support loyalty and repeat visits. Kroger makes a major change to shopping points rewards
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts questioned whether KR is trading near fair value, suggesting recent weakness has left the stock looking more aligned with fundamentals than clearly undervalued. Is Kroger (KR) Stock Trading Around Fair Value Today?
• Negative Sentiment: One report said Kroger foot traffic has slumped for a third straight month, raising concerns about same-store sales momentum. Kroger foot traffic slumps, analyst says, continuing a three-month trend
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said Kroger is scrapping its Florida expansion amid merger-related cuts, which may signal slower growth plans or integration tradeoffs. Kroger scraps Florida expansion amid merger, cuts, report says

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.