Corient Private Wealth LP lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 34.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 249,659 shares of the company's stock after selling 132,125 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP's holdings in Kroger were worth $13,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,016,956,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $470,561,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $284,501,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $195,234,000. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $157,533,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.
Kroger Price Performance
Shares of KR stock opened at $62.21 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.53. The company has a market cap of $38.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $54.15 and a twelve month high of $76.58.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, September 11th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $34.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.64 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 49.90% and a net margin of 0.73%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Kroger Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 84.78%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on Kroger from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.00.
Read Our Latest Report on KR
Key Headlines Impacting Kroger
Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Profitability exceeded expectations. Kroger reported second-quarter EPS of $1.09 versus the $1.05 consensus, while operating profit rose to $971 million from $863 million and net earnings increased to $641 million from $609 million. Cost savings, pharmacy, fuel, e-commerce and retail-media growth supported results. Kroger Q2 Earnings Beat on Cost Savings, Sales Outlook Cut
- Positive Sentiment: Management maintained its profit outlook. Kroger held fiscal 2026 EPS guidance at approximately $5.10–$5.30, indicating that efficiency initiatives and higher-margin businesses may protect earnings even as sales slow. Strong private-label demand and improved product availability are additional supports. Kroger records strong private label growth
- Positive Sentiment: Store technology and growth investments could improve execution. Harris Teeter plans a $253 million Charlotte-area investment, including three new stores, while some Central Ohio Kroger locations are deploying inventory robots. These initiatives may improve availability, productivity and long-term competitiveness. Harris Teeter investment announcement
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain constructive but more cautious. Telsey maintained an “outperform” rating while reducing its price target to $75 from $78. The change reflects lower sales expectations rather than a loss of confidence in Kroger’s earnings potential.
- Negative Sentiment: Comparable-sales guidance was cut sharply. Kroger lowered its fiscal 2026 identical-sales forecast excluding fuel to 0.2%–0.8% from 1%–2%. Second-quarter identical sales rose only 0.2%, below the 0.9% estimate, as lower- and middle-income consumers became more price-sensitive; a Cyclospora outbreak and drug-price changes also weighed on performance. Kroger trims 2026 sales outlook
- Negative Sentiment: Reported checkout pricing discrepancies create reputational risk. A new report alleging that shelf prices did not consistently match checkout totals could lead to customer dissatisfaction, regulatory scrutiny or remediation costs if substantiated. Report on Kroger shelf-price discrepancies
Kroger Profile
(
Free Report)
The Kroger Co NYSE: KR is one of the largest grocery retailers in the United States. Founded in Cincinnati in 1883 by Bernard Kroger, the company operates supermarkets, multi-department stores, pharmacies, convenience stores and fuel centers across the country.
Kroger sells a broad range of fresh foods, packaged groceries, household products, health and beauty items, prepared foods and general merchandise. Its private-label offerings include Simple Truth, Private Selection and Kroger brands.
Featured Articles

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Kroger, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Kroger wasn't on the list.
While Kroger currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Tesla, Nvidia, and Google helped shape the last era of market growth, but the next wave could come from a new group of companies. Inside this report, you’ll find 7 stocks that could play a major role in the next tech-driven market boom.
Get This Free Report
Continue following MarketBeat
Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.