Jacobs Equity LLC Takes $832,000 Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Jacobs Equity LLC bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $832,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 855,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,690,000 after buying an additional 267,434 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 126.2% during the 3rd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 35,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after buying an additional 19,898 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,063,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,099,000 after acquiring an additional 287,755 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Kroger by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 150,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,135,000 after acquiring an additional 23,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $49,780,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.67.

Kroger Stock Down 8.5%

NYSE KR opened at $56.57 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $65.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.40. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $56.32 and a one year high of $76.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $34.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.42.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced 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 0.69% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The firm had revenue of $46.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.30 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat estimates and identical sales excluding fuel rose 1.0%, showing Kroger still has steady demand for groceries and essentials. Reuters: Kroger beats quarterly sales estimates
• Positive Sentiment: eCommerce grew 19% and became profitable, while the media segment also turned profitable, which supports longer-term growth. Yahoo Finance: Kroger Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger reaffirmed full-year guidance, suggesting management still expects the business to stay on track despite a tougher consumer backdrop. Yahoo Finance: Kroger Delivers Revenue Beat While Reaffirming Full-Year Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: New CEO Greg Foran emphasized store improvements and broader price investments, which could help traffic but require execution and time to show up in results. WSJ: Kroger’s New CEO Wants Better Stores and More of Them
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed by a penny, and investors appear to be punishing the stock for even a small earnings miss in a low-growth retail environment. Zacks: Kroger Q1 Earnings Miss Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure and rising operating costs are the main concern, especially as Kroger uses price cuts to defend market share. MSN: Kroger seeing costs outrun sales growth

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.