Vestcor Inc Sells 16,994 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Vestcor Inc lessened its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 351,428 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,994 shares during the period. Kroger comprises approximately 0.7% of Vestcor Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Vestcor Inc owned approximately 0.05% of Kroger worth $23,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,997,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,014,000 after acquiring an additional 28,065 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Kroger by 8.4% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,491,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,052,000 after purchasing an additional 116,077 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.0% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Flavin Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFG Advisors purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $391,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $74.31 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.85. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.60 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90. The company has a market cap of $47.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $34.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.10 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 0.69% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays restated a “positive” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, February 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.38.

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.