State of Michigan Retirement System Raises Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 99.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 596,887 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 297,900 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Kroger worth $40,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $518,267,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 66.6% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,255,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,245,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100,444 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.0% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,680,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,843,000 after acquiring an additional 265,127 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.0% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,309,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,476,000 after acquiring an additional 41,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 7.9% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,126,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,028,000 after purchasing an additional 300,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Social and trader sentiment is upbeat about Kroger’s rebound potential despite recent profit volatility; posts highlight a low forward P/E, long dividend history and traders adding long exposure — supporting momentum and buyer interest. Kroger Stock (KR) Opinions on Recent Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional activity shows large buys from firms like Wellington, UBS and Goldman, offsetting notable sells — heavy additions by major asset managers can be a near-term support for the stock. Institutional holdings and hedge fund activity
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage is favorable: recent “Buy/Outperform” notes and a median price target around $70 (several targets higher) give investors a visible upside reference that can lift sentiment. Analyst ratings and targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Kroger scheduled its Q4 2025 earnings conference call for March 5 — management commentary and Q&A could move the stock depending on guidance detail and margin commentary. Earnings call announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Management changes: Kroger named a new Central Division president as part of divisional reshuffling — typically neutral but worth watching for execution on regional performance. Kroger names new Central Division president
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing and seasonal demand articles (Big Game/Valentine’s Day) and consumer tips increase traffic/awareness but are unlikely to materially change fundamentals on their own. In the Kitchen with Kroger
• Negative Sentiment: Kroger plans to close 18 retail health clinics in Georgia — closures signal portfolio pruning or cost actions but could reduce ancillary revenue and customer touchpoints in those markets. Kroger to reportedly close 18 health clinics in Georgia Kroger to close 18 retail health clinics
• Negative Sentiment: Store-safety incident: local reports of a fight and an individual reportedly pulling a gun prompted an evacuation at a Kroger store — negative for brand/safety perception in that location, though limited likely to be a localized, short-term impact. Kroger evacuated after fight breaks out Person reportedly pulls gun out during fight at local Kroger

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on KR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $78.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.07.

Kroger Stock Up 1.3%

Kroger stock opened at $67.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.62. 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 twelve month low of $58.60 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.25.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 38.06%. The firm had revenue of $33.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.750-4.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 129.63%.

About Kroger

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.