IFM Investors Pty Ltd Purchases 9,975 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,562 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,975 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Kroger by 61.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,367,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,249,307,000 after purchasing an additional 12,652,261 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $470,561,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 299.6% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,420,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,622,000 after buying an additional 1,814,721 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,445,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,754,000 after buying an additional 1,453,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 13,398,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $837,113,000 after buying an additional 1,360,946 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Kroger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.94.

Key Stories Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger’s purchase of Giant Eagle adds about 197 supermarkets, 11 pharmacies, and roughly $9 billion in annual revenue, giving KR immediate scale in five states. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary suggest the deal could be margin-stable and accretive to earnings, which supports the bull case for Kroger’s growth outlook. TipRanks article
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $71 price target, signaling confidence that KR still has upside from current levels. Benzinga article
• Neutral Sentiment: Kroger also named Emilee De Martino as its next Chief People Officer, a leadership change that is unlikely to be a major stock driver on its own. PR Newswire article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary notes the acquisition will likely be watched closely for financing, debt, and integration execution, so investor reaction may remain mixed until more details emerge. MarketBeat article
• Negative Sentiment: The market is also aware that Kroger’s balance sheet is already levered, so taking on Giant Eagle’s liabilities could weigh on sentiment if integration costs or debt concerns increase. Retail Insight Network article

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $58.12 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.52 and a 200 day moving average of $65.91. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $54.15 and a 52 week high of $76.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $46.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.39 per share. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.76%.

About Kroger

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.