SageGuard Financial Group LLC Purchases New Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

SageGuard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,163,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. WESPAC Advisors LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 16.8% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas raised its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% in the third quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 18,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.8% in the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $665,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.9% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 6,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $67.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $41.60 billion, a PE ratio of 44.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.77. 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 $76.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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 firm had revenue of $34.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.10 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 0.69% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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 $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on KR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, March 27th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, February 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.56.

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.