Kroger (NYSE:KR) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank cut shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.56.

Kroger Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of KR opened at $65.94 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $70.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.81. The stock has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a PE ratio of 43.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.55. Kroger has a 12 month low of $58.60 and a 12 month high of $76.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $34.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.10 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 0.69%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Kroger will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 91.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,169,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,821,546,000 after acquiring an additional 868,529 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in 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 during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in 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 during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 11.3% in 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 period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 worth $764,932,000 after buying an additional 122,606 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.