Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 151,907 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 65.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,284 shares of the company’s stock after selling 151,907 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $518,267,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 7.9% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,126,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,028,000 after purchasing an additional 300,784 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 101.7% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059,574 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.9% during the second quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 2,956,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,044,000 after purchasing an additional 83,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,743,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,763,000 after purchasing an additional 260,753 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stores Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New digital partnership updates have shifted the market narrative toward improved long-term growth and digital execution, which could boost e-commerce, loyalty and margins if partnerships translate to higher penetration or operating leverage. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger celebrated a grand re-opening at its Airport Road location — a reminder of store-level investments and local traffic restoration that can support same-store sales in that market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages’ consensus recommendation remains “Hold,” signaling analysts see limited near-term catalyst or valuation upside despite Kroger’s initiatives — this tempers buying pressure until guidance or execution changes. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The town of Groveland is seeking over $1.4M from Kroger for an alleged contract breach — a modest direct financial exposure but a near-term legal overhang that can weigh on sentiment and add legal costs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A fatal shooting outside a Westland Kroger store (victim: Salvation Army bell ringer) has attracted multiple local reports — this creates short-term reputational risk, potential temporary store disruption and community-relations scrutiny that could affect traffic at impacted locations. Article Title Article Title

Kroger Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $62.46 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $58.12 and a 12-month high of $74.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.84. The company has a market capitalization of $39.53 billion, a PE ratio of 57.84, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 38.06%. The firm had revenue of $33.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.750-4.800 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Roth Mkm raised Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kroger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 target price (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.13.

Kroger Company 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.