McKinney Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

McKinney Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 25,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,476,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,016,956,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,296,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $889,878,000 after purchasing an additional 53,625 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,041,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,129,000 after purchasing an additional 876,168 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $284,501,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,942,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,912,000 after purchasing an additional 610,039 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.86. 4,550,699 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,784,427. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $54.15 and a 12-month high of $76.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $62.78 and its 200 day moving average is $63.88. The company has a market cap of $41.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.36.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, September 11th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $34.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 49.90% and a net margin of 0.73%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 5.20 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 14th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on shares of Kroger from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 target price (down from $61.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.35.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, EVP Mary Adcock sold 72,901 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $4,425,090.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 175,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,636,643.10. This trade represents a 29.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co. is a U.S. grocery retailer founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1883 by Bernard Kroger. It operates supermarkets and other grocery formats across the United States under banners including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, King Soopers, and Smith’s. Alongside groceries and household essentials, Kroger stores offer services such as pharmacies and fuel centers. The company also sells products under its own private-label brands and produces many of those items through its food manufacturing operations.