The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 24,403 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 281,019 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,403 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Kroger were worth $15,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,016,956,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Kroger by 6,190.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 43,768,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,430,441,000 after buying an additional 43,072,270 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $470,561,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $284,501,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth $195,234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $68.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.31.

More Kroger News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.09, above the approximately $1.05 analyst consensus and up from $1.04 a year earlier. Operating profit increased to $971 million, while adjusted eCommerce sales grew 20% and Kroger Precision Marketing profit rose 24%. Kroger Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results and Updates Guidance for 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $5.10–$5.30, signaling confidence that cost savings, pharmacy and fuel performance, eCommerce and margin management can offset sluggish sales. Kroger also repurchased $1 billion of stock during the quarter. Kroger gains as profit outlook holds despite softer sales guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity indicated that some traders were positioning for additional upside following the earnings release.
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue rose 2% year over year to $34.62 billion but was slightly below estimates. Identical sales excluding fuel increased only 0.2%, reflecting cautious consumer spending and the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on pharmacy revenue. Kroger Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results and Updates Guidance for 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Kroger cut its fiscal-year identical-sales outlook excluding fuel to 0.2%–0.8%, down from 1%–2%. Executives cited inflation, intense grocery competition and strained household budgets, including elevated gasoline costs and reduced government food assistance. Kroger Cuts Sales View Due to Macro Challenges
• Negative Sentiment: A cyclospora outbreak reduced fresh-produce shopping during the quarter, while reports that Boar’s Head meats are disappearing from some stores could create additional deli-sales and customer-retention concerns. Cyclospora outbreak hammers Kroger sales as shoppers avoided produce

Kroger Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $58.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43. The company has a market cap of $35.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.41. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $54.15 and a 52 week high of $76.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.66.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 11th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 44.33% and a net margin of 0.71%.The firm had revenue of $34.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Kroger’s payout ratio is 91.76%.

Kroger Company Profile

The Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) is one of the largest grocery retailers in the United States. Founded in Cincinnati in 1883 by Bernard Kroger, the company operates supermarkets, multi-department stores, pharmacies, convenience stores and fuel centers across the country.

Kroger sells a broad range of fresh foods, packaged groceries, household products, health and beauty items, prepared foods and general merchandise. Its private-label offerings include Simple Truth, Private Selection and Kroger brands.