The Kroger Co. $KR Stock Purchased by Secure Asset Management LLC

Secure Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,735 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,478 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $3,016,956,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Kroger by 0.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,296,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $889,878,000 after acquiring an additional 53,625 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Kroger by 17.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,041,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,129,000 after acquiring an additional 876,168 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter worth about $284,501,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 18.3% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,942,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,912,000 after acquiring an additional 610,039 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Corporate cost-cutting could support profitability. Kroger reportedly plans to eliminate approximately 3,000 corporate positions as new CEO Ron Marshall accelerates the use of artificial intelligence and seeks to remove duplicated work. The initiative could reduce expenses over time, although execution and restructuring costs remain risks. Kroger plans 3,000 corporate cuts as new CEO pushes AI to reduce duplicative work
• Neutral Sentiment: A rival’s cybersecurity disruption may create a limited competitive opportunity. Stop & Shop reportedly experienced a website outage linked to a cybersecurity incident and cut prices at checkout. The disruption could temporarily direct some shoppers to Kroger, but no material financial benefit for KR has been established. Kroger rival slashes prices at checkout after cybersecurity incident
• Neutral Sentiment: A former Kroger location is attracting a new supermarket tenant. An Asian grocery operator plans to open in a vacant Kroger store in Sugar Land, Texas. The development may help repurpose the property, but it does not appear to have a direct, near-term effect on Kroger’s earnings. Asian supermarket to move into vacant Kroger store
• Negative Sentiment: Albertsons has begun an $8 billion-plus damages trial against Kroger. The Delaware case concerns the collapse of the proposed $24.6 billion merger after regulatory opposition blocked the transaction. Albertsons alleges Kroger breached its obligations and seeks substantial damages, while both former merger partners are expected to blame each other. A large judgment could pressure Kroger’s cash flow, balance sheet and investor confidence; the final liability and timing remain uncertain. Albertsons seeks $8 billion from Kroger as failed merger trial begins

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Evercore set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, EVP Mary Adcock sold 72,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value 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 $10,636,643.10. This trade represents a 29.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $63.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.54. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $54.15 and a 1 year high of $76.58. The company has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.36.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, September 11th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 49.90% and a net margin of 0.73%. The company had revenue of $34.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.78%.

Kroger Company Profile

The Kroger Co is a U.S. food and grocery retailer headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883, the company operates supermarkets under banners that include Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Fry’s, Harris Teeter and Smith’s, among others.

Kroger’s business includes the sale of fresh food, groceries, general merchandise, household products and health and beauty items. Many of its stores also provide pharmacy services and fuel centers. The company offers digital shopping, pickup and delivery services, loyalty programs and a range of private-label products, including Simple Truth, Private Selection and Kroger-branded products.

Kroger primarily serves customers across the United States, with stores concentrated in the Midwest, South, West and parts of the Mid-Atlantic region.