The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Purchased by Marietta Investment Partners LLC

Marietta Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 110,769 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,664 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for 1.4% of Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 13,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $916,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 16.8% during the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas raised its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 18,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $665,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays restated a “positive” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, February 9th. Evercore set a $77.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.19.

Kroger Trading Up 5.3%

Shares of KR stock opened at $71.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $58.60 and a 1 year high of $74.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.08. Kroger had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 38.06%. The business had revenue of $34.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 129.63%.

Trending Headlines about Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 profit beat and margin strength — Kroger reported adjusted EPS above expectations and improved operating margins driven by sourcing gains; management also flagged 20% e?commerce growth, which helped the beat. Kroger Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: New CEO sets a value play — Greg Foran’s first public comments emphasize lower in?store prices, better deals, faster e?commerce and AI to drive sales and market share; investors are treating this as a credible operational reset. New Kroger CEO Greg Foran outlines top priorities
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded capital returns — the board approved an extra $2B repurchase authorization (on top of recent ASR activity), supporting EPS leverage and signaling shareholder-friendly management. Kroger Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Telsey raised its price target and the consensus analyst sentiment sits around “Moderate Buy,” which helps underpin the rally. Benzinga: Telsey raises price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Cautious FY26 outlook — Kroger set FY26 adjusted EPS guidance slightly above consensus ( $5.10–$5.30 ) but gave conservative sales guidance; investors view guidance as balanced — supportive on EPS but cautious on top?line growth. MarketWatch: Guidance and sales misses
• Neutral Sentiment: E?commerce strategic review — management says the e?commerce review should deliver ~ $400M of operating profit improvement in 2026, a positive structural step but one that will take time to fully materialize. PR Newswire: eCommerce review
• Negative Sentiment: Product recall risk — frozen food recall (Ajinomoto product sold at Kroger/Trader Joe’s in Illinois) for glass contamination poses a reputational and potential short?term cost issue. IndyStar: Ajinomoto recall
• Negative Sentiment: Operational cuts and closures — Kroger is closing Little Clinic locations and has shuttered underperforming stores/laid-off staff in some markets; these actions reduce costs but also signal restructuring headwinds. Yahoo: Kroger closing Little Clinic locations
• Negative Sentiment: Labor and legal risks — union tensions and class?action suits over e?commerce worker classification create ongoing downside risk and potential litigation costs. GroceryDive: e?commerce lawsuits

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.