Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 868,529 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 1.1%, adding 868,529 shares to hold 77,169,425 shares (about 12.19% of the company) valued at roughly $4.82 billion.
• Kroger beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.28 vs. $1.20 consensus while revenue was slightly below estimates, and the company set FY2026 guidance of 5.100–5.300 EPS (analysts' average ~5.24).
• Kroger announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 (annualized $1.40, yield 2.1%, payout ratio 91.5%); the stock trades near $65.94 with a market cap of ~$40.4 billion and a P/E of 43.1.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,169,425 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 868,529 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.19% of Kroger worth $4,821,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Kroger by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Kroger by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 56,243 shares of the company's stock worth $3,807,000 after acquiring an additional 16,270 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $201,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 97,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,978,000 after buying an additional 10,051 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,840,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE:KR opened at $65.94 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $70.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $58.60 and a one year high of $76.58. The company has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a PE ratio of 43.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KR. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $78.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, March 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.56.

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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