Fifth Third Bancorp Has $10.90 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 124.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 150,602 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 83,563 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Kroger were worth $10,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,169,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,821,546,000 after acquiring an additional 868,529 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,948,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,153,622,000 after acquiring an additional 386,503 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 13,398,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $837,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360,946 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,242,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,932,000 after acquiring an additional 122,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $470,561,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger is expanding its premium offering by launching in-store wine shops, which could help lift sales mix and attract higher-spending customers. Kroger launches store wine shops to tap into consumer demand for premium options
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and industry coverage have pointed to Kroger’s focus on fresh food and merchandising improvements as a potential competitive advantage that could support long-term customer loyalty and growth. Is Fresh Food Becoming Kroger’s Biggest Competitive Advantage?
• Positive Sentiment: Reports suggest the Kroger-Giant Eagle deal may win approval with only limited store divestitures, easing concerns that antitrust review could derail the transaction. The Kroger-Giant Eagle deal is seen being approved after limited store divestitures
• Neutral Sentiment: Kroger is reportedly scrapping plans to build dozens of Harris Teeter stores across Florida, though some reports say a Jacksonville location may still move forward. The pullback lowers expansion expectations but also reduces near-term capital spending. Kroger wipes out plan for 80 stores in Florida
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry chatter continues around the regulatory path for the Kroger-Giant Eagle merger, with antitrust experts discussing possible hurdles and remedies. Will the Kroger-Giant Eagle deal face regulatory challenges?
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader consumer trend stories about shoppers spending more time on meal planning and grocery shopping do not directly change Kroger’s fundamentals, but they reinforce demand for convenience-focused grocery and prepared-food offerings. US Millennials and Gen Z Are Losing Hours Each Week to Food Friction

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Erste Group Bank cut Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Kroger Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE KR opened at $58.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.70. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $54.15 and a 52 week high of $76.58. The company has a market cap of $35.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.44.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.01). Kroger had a net margin of 0.71% and a return on equity of 44.33%. The business had revenue of $46.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Kroger 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.