Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. $KR

Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 51.5% in the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 103,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,474,000 after purchasing an additional 35,102 shares in the last quarter. Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the first quarter valued at about $303,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth about $13,412,000. BCGM Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the first quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,203,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vectors Research Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 34,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger News Summary

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 19th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Kroger Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $58.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.83 and its 200-day moving average is $65.63. The company has a market cap of $35.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.44. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $54.15 and a 52-week high of $76.58.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.35%.

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.