Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Grows Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 43.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,923 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,454 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 1.2% in the third quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 13,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 16.8% in the 3rd 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. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 18,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $665,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

More Kroger News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Customer Appreciation Week (March 11–17) returns — a major promotional event that can boost traffic, basket sizes and short-term sales. Kroger Brings Back Customer Appreciation Week with Special Savings Kroger Brings Back Customer Appreciation Week (Yahoo)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Roth MKM reiterated a “Buy” rating, signaling continued broker-level confidence. Kroger’s (KR) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Roth Mkm
• Positive Sentiment: New CEO messaging and management optimism — CEO Foran says Kroger “has all the ingredients to win,” which could reassure investors on strategy execution. Kroger has ‘all the ingredients to win,’ new CEO Foran says
• Positive Sentiment: Insider/insider-adjacent buy: Sen. John Boozman purchased Kroger shares — can be read as a small vote of confidence. Sen. John Boozman Purchases Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)
• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation: Kroger announced a new line-up of convenience meals — supports same-store sales and private-label growth. Kroger announces new line-up of convenience meals
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $71 but maintained a “neutral” rating — a modest signal (target is still slightly below the current price), so limited positive catalyst. Citigroup raises KR price target to $71 (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Kroger has lagged many retail peers over the past year — underperformance raises concern about market-share momentum and investor sentiment. How Is Kroger’s Stock Performance Compared to Other Retail Stocks?
• Negative Sentiment: Labor/working-conditions scrutiny — coverage asking whether conditions will worsen under the new CEO could heighten union risk and operational disruptions. SN top 10: Will working conditions worsen at Kroger under new CEO?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Kroger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, March 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.56.

Kroger Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:KR opened at $72.30 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $65.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $58.60 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.76 billion, a PE ratio of 47.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.08. Kroger had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 0.69%.The company had revenue of $34.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.50%.

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.