Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Boosts Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 26.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280,141 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,782 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Kroger were worth $20,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Key Headlines Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger Health launched its new GLP-1 Complete Support Program, with dietitians providing guidance for patients using weight-management medications. This could strengthen Kroger’s health-services offering and create a new customer-engagement opportunity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: A back-to-school hiring event is seeking to fill hundreds of store jobs across four states, signaling Kroger is still investing in store operations and labor coverage heading into a busy retail period. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger’s ongoing automation and robotics efforts in Columbus-area stores may support efficiency and long-term margin improvement. Article Title

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $56.81 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $54.15 and a 52 week high of $76.58. 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 firm has a market cap of $34.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.85 and a 200-day moving average of $65.39.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $45.59 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 0.71% and a return on equity of 44.33%. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.30 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 5.21 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 82.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on KR. Weiss Ratings cut Kroger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Kroger from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Kroger Company 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.