Kroger (KR) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. The company has invested in e-commerce and omnichannel capabilities to support grocery pickup and delivery, digital promotions and loyalty programs, and other customer-facing technologies. Kroger’s product and service mix also extends to private-label offerings designed to address consumer preferences for value and specialty choices, as well as partnerships and initiatives aimed at improving supply-chain efficiency and fresh food sourcing.

Kroger’s operations are concentrated across the United States, where it serves customers through multiple regional banners and formats. The company has expanded its footprint over time through organic growth and acquisitions of regional grocery chains, while also pursuing investments in automation and digital fulfillment to adapt to changing consumer behavior. Rodney McMullen has served as Kroger’s chief executive officer since 2014, guiding the company through initiatives focused on technological modernization, customer loyalty, and competitive positioning within the U.S. grocery industry.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $56.57 to $58.25
• 50-Day Range: $55.52 to $70.64
• 52-Week Range: $54.15 to $76.58
• Volume: 5.93 million shs
• Average Volume: 8.61 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $35.61 billion
• P/E Ratio: 34.19
• Dividend Yield: 2.41%
• Price Target: $71.94
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Kroger Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Kroger scored higher than 95% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 23rd out of 198 stocks in the retail/wholesale sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Kroger has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.53, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 10 buy ratings, 9 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside Potential

Kroger has a consensus price target of $71.94, representing about 23.8% upside from its current price of $58.12.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Kroger has been the subject of 13 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 6.53%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Kroger are expected to grow by 6.53% in the coming year, from $5.21 to $5.55 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Kroger is 34.19, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 46.31.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Kroger is 34.19, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Retail/Wholesale sector average P/E ratio of about 21.39.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Kroger has a PEG Ratio of 1.56. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Kroger has a P/B Ratio of 6.20. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

5.00% of the float of Kroger has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Kroger has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.96, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Kroger has recently decreased by 2.85%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Kroger pays a meaningful dividend of 2.40%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Kroger has been increasing its dividend for 19 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Kroger is 82.35%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Kroger will have a dividend payout ratio of 25.23% next year. This indicates that Kroger will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.5 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.52

News Sentiment

Kroger has a news sentiment score of 0.52. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Retail/Wholesale companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 72 news articles for Kroger this week, compared to 9 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

43 people have searched for KR on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 95% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

34 people have added Kroger to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 278% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 0.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Kroger insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

0.41% of the stock of Kroger is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

80.93% of the stock of Kroger is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Record date for 6/1 Dividend: 5/15/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 6/1 Dividend: 5/15/2026
• Dividend Payable: 6/01/2026
• Last Earnings: 6/18/2026
• Today: 7/05/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 9/1 Dividend: 8/14/2026
• Record date for 9/1 Dividend: 8/15/2026
• Dividend Payable: 9/01/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 9/10/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 1/31/2027

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Retail/Wholesale
• Industry: RETAIL - SUPERMKT
• Sub-Industry: Food Retail
• Current Symbol: NYSE:KR
• CIK: 56873
• Web: www.thekrogerco.com
• Phone: (513) 762-4000
• Fax: 513-762-1575
• Employees: 403,000
• Year Founded: 1883

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Kroger: $71.94
• High Price Target: $85.00
• Low Price Target: $58.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +23.8%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.53
• Research Coverage: 19 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $1.70
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 34.19
• Forward P/E Ratio: 11.16
• P/E Growth: 1.56
• Net Income: $1.02 billion
• Net Margins: 0.71%
• Pretax Margin: 0.86%
• Return on Equity: 44.33%
• Return on Assets: 6.20%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 2.43
• Current Ratio: 0.79
• Quick Ratio: 0.39

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $147.64 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.24
• Cash Flow: $11.22 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 5.18
• Book Value: $9.38 per share
• Price / Book: 6.20

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 612,650,000
• Free Float: 610,135,000
• Market Cap: $35.61 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.44