Norges Bank Takes $470.56 Million Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 7,531,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,561,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 268.1% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.87.

Kroger Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $61.48 on Tuesday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.74. The firm has a market cap of $37.67 billion, a PE ratio of 40.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.43. 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 91.50%.

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.