The Kroger Co. $KR Stock Purchased by M&G PLC

Key Points

• M&G PLC increased its Kroger stake by 9.5% in the third quarter, adding 47,628 shares to bring its holdings to 550,537 shares, worth about $32.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of Kroger stock.
• Kroger’s latest quarter delivered EPS of $1.09, above estimates, while revenue of $34.62 billion was slightly below forecasts but up 2% year over year. The company set fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $5.10–$5.30.
• Investors face a pricing challenge: reports put Kroger’s prices 14.8% above Walmart’s, potentially pressuring its appeal to price-sensitive shoppers. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $70.35.

M&G PLC grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 9.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 550,537 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 47,628 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC owned about 0.09% of Kroger worth $32,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. ROI Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 2.0% in the first quarter. ROI Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,943 shares of the company's stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 2.7% during the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 6,768 shares of the company's stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Kroger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,088 shares of the company's stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Kroger by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, BCGM Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,203,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, EVP Mary Adcock sold 72,901 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $4,425,090.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 175,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,643.10. This represents a 29.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street Zen raised Kroger’s stock rating to Buy, providing a favorable analyst signal. Kroger Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen
• Neutral Sentiment: Kroger is offering veterans and military families a 10% Veterans Day discount. The promotion may support customer goodwill, but its financial impact is likely limited. Kroger Offers Veterans Day Discount
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports of vehicles crashing into Kroger store entrances concern individual locations and do not indicate a company-wide operating issue. A meal-prep video featuring Kroger groceries is also unlikely to materially affect the stock. Driver Cited After Crashing Into Local Kroger Honeysuckle Meal-Preps With Kroger Groceries
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage underscores Kroger’s challenge competing on price: Consumer Reports put its prices 14.8% above Walmart’s, and Kroger’s CEO has said the company is not trying to be the cheapest. A persistent gap could make it harder to retain price-sensitive shoppers or grow sales, even if competing on price is not Kroger’s strategy. Kroger’s Price Gap With Walmart Regional Grocers’ Pricing Challenge

Kroger Stock Up 0.6%

KR stock opened at $68.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.75. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $54.15 and a 12 month high of $76.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.36.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 11th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $34.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 49.90%. The firm's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 5.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 84.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $57.00 target price (down from $61.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.35.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co is a U.S. grocery retailer founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1883 by Bernard Kroger. It operates supermarkets and other grocery formats across the United States under banners including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, King Soopers, and Smith's.

Alongside groceries and household essentials, Kroger stores offer services such as pharmacies and fuel centers. The company also sells products under its own private-label brands and produces many of those items through its food manufacturing operations.

Kroger serves customers through physical stores and digital channels, including online ordering for pickup and delivery.

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