SteelPeak Wealth LLC Acquires 35,102 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 51.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,286 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 35,102 shares during the quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 268.1% in the 4th 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. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on KR. UBS Group set a $63.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Key Stories Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger is expanding its premium food and beverage strategy, including 147 new wine shops nationwide, which could support higher-margin sales and improve customer spending mix. Kroger bets on luxury wines with 147 new wine shops nationwide
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger also made a major change to its rewards program that is intended to help shoppers, which may support loyalty and repeat visits. Kroger makes a major change to shopping points rewards
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts questioned whether KR is trading near fair value, suggesting recent weakness has left the stock looking more aligned with fundamentals than clearly undervalued. Is Kroger (KR) Stock Trading Around Fair Value Today?
• Negative Sentiment: One report said Kroger foot traffic has slumped for a third straight month, raising concerns about same-store sales momentum. Kroger foot traffic slumps, analyst says, continuing a three-month trend
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said Kroger is scrapping its Florida expansion amid merger-related cuts, which may signal slower growth plans or integration tradeoffs. Kroger scraps Florida expansion amid merger, cuts, report says

Kroger Trading Up 3.6%

NYSE KR opened at $58.58 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $54.15 and a 52 week high of $76.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.35%.

Kroger Company 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.