Cibc World Market Inc. Decreases Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Cibc World Market Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 55.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,475 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117,302 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 45.5% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 855,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,690,000 after purchasing an additional 267,434 shares in the last quarter. Longbow Finance SA bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,115,000. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 126.2% during the third quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 35,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 19,898 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 7.7% during the third quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 1,010,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,122,000 after purchasing an additional 72,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 16.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,063,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,099,000 after purchasing an additional 287,755 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Kroger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.73.

Kroger Trading Up 0.0%

Kroger stock opened at $63.59 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.63. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $58.60 and a 12 month high of $76.58. The company has a market capitalization of $38.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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 return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 0.69%.The business had revenue of $34.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.50%.

More Kroger News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger is promoting its new limited-time “All-American Ice Cream Collection” and giving away 100,000 free pints for the summer solstice, a marketing push that could lift traffic and reinforce customer engagement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports noted new or upcoming Kroger Marketplace openings and development progress in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia, signaling continued store expansion and local market investment. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several lifestyle and local-news pieces highlighted the ice cream giveaway and store openings, but these are largely promotional updates rather than material financial catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Kroger agreed to a $2.5 million DOJ settlement over alleged Clean Air Act emissions violations, which adds a legal and compliance overhang even if the dollar amount is relatively small. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A report suggesting Kroger may lose more executives could raise concerns about management turnover and continuity. Article Title

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.