Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Acquires New Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 655.7% during the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 922 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 37,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 6,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 16,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 2,297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KR. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.56.

Kroger News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call-option activity—investors bought ~19,552 calls on Friday (about 48% above average), signaling short-term bullish positioning by traders that can support upside or indicate expectation of near-term catalysts.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group initiated coverage with a Buy and materially higher multi-year EPS forecasts (FY2027 $5.25, FY2028 $5.62 vs. consensus ~$4.44), suggesting analysts see earnings acceleration from Kroger’s transformation and supporting a more constructive medium-term outlook. Erste Group Initiates Kroger (KR) with Buy, Sees Profit Growth Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger is expanding its Flashfood program across 100+ Mid‑Atlantic stores to reduce food waste, lower shopper prices and support community health—an execution item that can improve margins, traffic and ESG positioning. Kroger Scales Flashfood To Mid Atlantic Stores To Shape Investor Narrative
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry commentary (Zacks) highlights Kroger as well‑positioned with Walmart to navigate digital transformation and margin pressure—supportive context but not an immediate stock mover. 2 Supermarket Stocks Well-Positioned to Capitalize on Industry Trends
• Neutral Sentiment: Local hiring events and store openings (e.g., Charleston Marketplace hiring) are positive for growth but are incremental and unlikely to move the stock materially on their own. Kroger and Charleston YWCA host hiring event for new Kroger Marketplace opening in June
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry note on electronic shelf labels highlights operational efficiency gains but also raises consumer-protection concerns; the item is sector-level and only a potential regulatory/PR risk. Digital price tags increase store efficiency, but some worry they’ll spur price gouging
• Negative Sentiment: Kroger was hit with a false‑advertising lawsuit—legal exposure and potential reputational damage can weigh on sentiment until resolved. Kroger sued for false advertising
• Negative Sentiment: Raymond James upgraded Instacart on a new Cart Assistant product; improving online-grocery competitiveness at Instacart could pressure Kroger’s delivery/marketplace growth and margins if it accelerates third‑party share gains. Raymond James lifts Instacart to Outperform on agentic shopping opportunity

Kroger Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $68.09 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.72. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $58.60 and a 12-month high of $76.58. 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 market cap of $41.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.50, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.