Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Purchases 19,309 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 77.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,195 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,309 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 61.1% during 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 buying an additional 12,652,261 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,948,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,153,622,000 after acquiring an additional 386,503 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,327,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,515,000 after acquiring an additional 865,559 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Kroger by 66.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Kroger by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,204,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,728,000 after acquiring an additional 524,768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.9%

KR opened at $72.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.42. The company has a market capitalization of $45.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.26, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.62. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $58.60 and a 52 week high of $76.58.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Kroger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Eight 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.56.

Key Headlines Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 2026 results showed meaningful profit and cash-flow improvement: operating profit and EPS rose sharply year-over-year and cash from operations jumped, supporting better profitability despite modest revenue growth. This strengthens Kroger’s earnings quality and liquidity profile. Q4 2026 Earnings Summary
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street and the sell-side remain constructive overall (consensus ~“Moderate Buy,” several Outperform ratings and mixed but mostly upbeat price targets), which supports demand for the stock into guidance windows. Analyst Recommendation Summary
• Positive Sentiment: Near-term consumer promotions (Easter/spring discounts and gas-related offers) and local expansion plans can help traffic and basket sizes during a seasonal period. These merchandising initiatives are supportive for same-store trends. Easter Promotions
• Neutral Sentiment: Targeted store closures — Kroger has officially closed Houston/Spring locations and is trimming several underperforming sites (including some California stores) as part of network rationalization; this reduces costs but also shrinks sales footprint. Houston/Spring Closures Industry Store Closures Context
• Negative Sentiment: The EEOC has filed suit alleging Kroger failed to accommodate and terminated an employee with a disability at a Houston-area store — this raises legal, remediation and reputational risk in the near term. EEOC Allegations (Yahoo) EEOC Lawsuit (Houston Chronicle)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple customer complaints and local incident reports (rotten produce, criticism of Kroger-brand meat, and a separate alleged discriminatory store ban) are pressuring brand perception and could affect local traffic if issues spread. Produce Complaints Meat Complaints Alleged Discriminatory Ban

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.