River Road Asset Management LLC Purchases 491,541 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 38.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,761,155 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 491,541 shares during the quarter. Kroger makes up about 1.2% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $110,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,169,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,821,546,000 after buying an additional 868,529 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 61.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,367,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,249,307,000 after acquiring an additional 12,652,261 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,948,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,153,622,000 after acquiring an additional 386,503 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 13,398,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $837,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,242,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,932,000 after acquiring an additional 122,606 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $56.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.40. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $56.32 and a 1-year high of $76.58. The firm has a market cap of $34.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.42.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $45.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.30 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Erste Group Bank lowered Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Kroger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.67.

Key Stories 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.