Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 66,118 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its Kroger stake by 12.1% in the first quarter, selling 66,118 shares and ending with 480,933 shares worth about $34.8 million.
• Kroger reported mixed quarterly results, with revenue of $46.12 billion beating estimates while EPS of $1.58 narrowly missed expectations; the company also raised its full-year FY2026 EPS guidance to 5.10–5.30.
• Analysts remain split on KR after recent target cuts, but the stock still carries a Moderate Buy consensus, and Kroger boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.39 per share from $0.35.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 12.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 480,933 shares of the company's stock after selling 66,118 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of Kroger worth $34,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 268.1% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 416 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger is rolling out new in-store wine shops to capture demand for premium products, which could support higher-margin sales and improve traffic. Kroger launches store wine shops to tap into consumer demand for premium options
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger also made a major change to its rewards program that helps shoppers, which may strengthen customer loyalty and encourage repeat spending. Kroger makes major change to rewards program that will help shoppers
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said concerns about Walmart’s price investments tied to Kroger-related headlines may be overdone, suggesting Kroger’s competitive actions are being noticed by the market. Buy Walmart stock as price investment fear is overdone, Bernstein says
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage highlighted several new food items at Kroger in July, which may help draw shoppers but is unlikely to move the stock materially on its own. The 7 Best New Food Items To Grab At Kroger In July 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Kroger is scaling back or scrapping parts of its Florida expansion plans suggest a more cautious growth strategy, but the impact appears limited for now. Kroger wipes out plan for 80 stores in Florida
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on the Kroger-Giant Eagle merger process; while approval is now seen as more likely, the deal still depends on regulatory review and limited divestitures, which keeps uncertainty around the stock. The Kroger-Giant Eagle deal is seen being approved after limited store divestitures
• Negative Sentiment: Antitrust scrutiny around the Kroger-Giant Eagle merger could slow or complicate approval, adding another layer of headline risk for KR. Will the Kroger-Giant Eagle deal face regulatory challenges?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Kroger from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Kroger Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $56.46 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $54.15 and a 52-week high of $76.58. 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 company has a market capitalization of $34.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.66.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $46.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.59 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 44.33% and a net margin of 0.71%.Kroger's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 91.76%.

Kroger 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.

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