The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its Kroger stake by 25.2% in Q4 to 494,325 shares (about $30.9M), and institutional investors now own roughly 80.93% of the company.
• Kroger beat Q earnings expectations with $1.28 EPS and set FY2026 guidance of $5.10–$5.30 EPS, in line with the average analyst forecast of $5.24.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 (annualized yield ~2.1%), and the stock trades near $67.98 with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target of $74.56.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 25.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 494,325 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 99,600 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned about 0.08% of Kroger worth $30,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 268.1% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 416 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 490 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, March 27th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Kroger from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.56.

Kroger Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:KR opened at $67.98 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.80. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $58.60 and a 52 week high of $76.58. The company has a market capitalization of $41.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $34.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.10 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 0.69%.The firm's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 91.50%.

Key Kroger News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger highlights customer demand for Pickup & Delivery and launched an Online Deal Days promotion (Apr. 22–May 5) to drive digital traffic and basket growth; this supports sales and margin leverage from higher-margin convenience services. Kroger Dishes on How Customers Love to Shop Online Just in Time for Online Deal Days
• Positive Sentiment: Harris Teeter associates (a Kroger banner) ran volunteer activities across seven markets for National Volunteer Week — a community-engagement story that supports brand goodwill and local customer relationships. Harris Teeter Associates Volunteer Across Seven Markets for National Volunteer Week
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger earned a Platinum rating from the Burning Glass Institute and the Schultz Family Foundation for career growth and internal mobility — a positive for retention, hiring efficiency and long-term labor cost dynamics. Kroger Recognized for Career Growth and Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry news: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream hired a former Ben & Jerry’s chief as CEO — notable in the specialty ice cream space but unlikely to materially affect Kroger’s overall grocery business near-term. Jeni’s scoops up former Ben & Jerry’s chief as CEO
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated tech/security product launch (Codenotary) — not relevant to Kroger’s fundamentals. Codenotary Accelerates Enterprise Adoption, Expands Into AI Agent Security and Autonomous Remediation
• Negative Sentiment: Local & investigative reports highlight Kroger’s biggest recent shakeup in store count and executive ranks in over a decade — store closures and leadership turnover raise concerns about execution, earnings cadence and cost of repositioning. Kroger made biggest shakeup in more than a decade in store count, executive officers over past year
• Negative Sentiment: A false bomb threat forced an evacuation at a Kroger store in Fountain City — a localized safety incident that can dent near-term traffic and creates headline risk. Man charged after false bomb threat forces Kroger evacuation in Fountain City

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.

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