California State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 695,810 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,883 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Kroger were worth $50,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 56,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,807,000 after purchasing an additional 16,270 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth approximately $201,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11.5% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 97,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,978,000 after purchasing an additional 10,051 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth $1,840,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $78.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger is expanding its store footprint, including a planned replacement store in Dunwoody, Georgia, and a roughly $40 million location in Little Elm, Texas. These investments could support long-term sales growth and market share. Dunwoody approves new Kroger store Kroger spends $40 million on new Little Elm store
• Positive Sentiment: A grocery price study ranked Kroger ahead of Walmart, Aldi and Albertsons, potentially reinforcing its value proposition as consumers remain price-sensitive. Kroger tops grocery price study
• Positive Sentiment: The company introduced an AI shopping assistant for meal planning, which could improve personalization, digital engagement and customer retention. Kroger debuts AI shopping assistant
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader investor interest is moving toward natural and health-focused food retailers, including Sprouts Farmers Market, United Natural Foods and Simply Good Foods. The trend may benefit grocery demand generally, but no specific Kroger earnings impact was reported. Natural foods stocks gain
• Negative Sentiment: A consumer group cited approximately 1,700 complaints alleging pricing discrepancies at Kroger stores. If substantiated, the issue could create reputational, regulatory and margin risks. Consumer group pricing discrepancy claims
• Negative Sentiment: Costco’s highly competitive, membership-driven gasoline model highlights pressure on traditional grocers’ fuel-loyalty programs and customer economics. This is an industry competitive concern rather than a direct Kroger announcement. How Costco engineered the perfect gas station

Kroger Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of KR opened at $57.97 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $54.15 and a twelve month high of $76.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.38.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $46.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.59 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 0.71% and a return on equity of 44.33%. Kroger’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.30 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 82.35%.

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.