Keybank National Association OH Buys 10,752 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 47.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,508 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,752 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,764,000. Amundi grew its position in Kroger by 18.3% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,942,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,912,000 after acquiring an additional 610,039 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Kroger in the second quarter worth approximately $76,633,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth $10,924,000. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at $1,527,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on KR. UBS Group set a $66.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.35.

Kroger Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE KR traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,550,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,784,427. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $54.15 and a 1 year high of $76.58. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Friday, September 11th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $34.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 49.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 5.20 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.78%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, EVP Mary Adcock sold 72,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $4,425,090.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 175,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,643.10. This trade represents a 29.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company Profile

The Kroger Co. is a U.S. grocery retailer founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1883 by Bernard Kroger. It operates supermarkets and other grocery formats across the United States under banners including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, King Soopers, and Smith’s. Alongside groceries and household essentials, Kroger stores offer services such as pharmacies and fuel centers. The company also sells products under its own private-label brands and produces many of those items through its food manufacturing operations.