Arvest Bank Trust Division Buys Shares of 46,784 The Kroger Co. $KR

Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 46,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,385,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allstate Corp boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 108.5% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 47,991 shares of the company's stock worth $2,998,000 after acquiring an additional 24,976 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,169,425 shares of the company's stock worth $4,821,546,000 after acquiring an additional 868,529 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 10,178.7% during the fourth quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 507,459 shares of the company's stock worth $31,706,000 after purchasing an additional 502,522 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Kroger by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 894,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,946,000 after purchasing an additional 209,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,299,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $63.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Kroger Stock Down 0.9%

KR stock opened at $57.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.54. 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 Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $54.15 and a 12 month high of $76.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $46.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.59 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 44.33% and a net margin of 0.71%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio 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.

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