Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 14,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in Kroger by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 56,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,807,000 after acquiring an additional 16,270 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 97,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,978,000 after acquiring an additional 10,051 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,840,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger is expanding its premium food and beverage strategy, including 147 new wine shops nationwide, which could support higher-margin sales and improve customer spending mix. Kroger bets on luxury wines with 147 new wine shops nationwide
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger also made a major change to its rewards program that is intended to help shoppers, which may support loyalty and repeat visits. Kroger makes a major change to shopping points rewards
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts questioned whether KR is trading near fair value, suggesting recent weakness has left the stock looking more aligned with fundamentals than clearly undervalued. Is Kroger (KR) Stock Trading Around Fair Value Today?
• Negative Sentiment: One report said Kroger foot traffic has slumped for a third straight month, raising concerns about same-store sales momentum. Kroger foot traffic slumps, analyst says, continuing a three-month trend
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said Kroger is scrapping its Florida expansion amid merger-related cuts, which may signal slower growth plans or integration tradeoffs. Kroger scraps Florida expansion amid merger, cuts, report says

Kroger Trading Up 3.6%

NYSE:KR opened at $58.58 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.79. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $54.15 and a 1 year high of $76.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.01). Kroger had a return on equity of 44.33% and a net margin of 0.71%.The company had revenue of $46.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. Kroger’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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 82.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Erste Group Bank cut Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $58.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

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.