The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.5625.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KR. Barclays restated a “positive” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Trending Headlines about Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group started research coverage on Kroger, which can increase investor attention and liquidity and may support the stock. Kroger (NYSE:KR) Research Coverage Started at Erste Group Bank
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger launched an Earth Month round-up at checkout to benefit the World Wildlife Fund — a consumer-facing CSR program that can bolster brand sentiment and customer engagement. Celebrate Earth Month with Kroger and Round Up at the Register for World Wildlife Fund
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer guides and product pieces (e.g., analysis of the Kroger credit card) are circulating — useful for customer acquisition but unlikely to move the stock materially on their own. Is The Kroger Credit Card Worth It? Here’s What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation commentary is active: columnists are debating whether KR’s current price reflects DCF upside and its high P/E — this shapes investor expectations but is not a company action. Is Kroger (KR) Pricing Reflect Its DCF Upside And High P/E Multiple?
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational/foot-traffic notes (store hours for holidays) are being published; these are routine and have minimal direct impact on the stock. Kroger Easter hours 2026: Is Kroger open on Easter Sunday
• Negative Sentiment: Eight states that opposed the proposed $25B Kroger–Albertsons merger are seeking roughly $10M in legal-fee reimbursement and have sued the grocers — this creates potential cash/legal exposure and prolongs regulatory friction that could weigh on investor sentiment. States Seek $10M in Legal Fees After Blocking $25B Kroger-Albertsons Merger
• Negative Sentiment: About 3 million bottles of eye drops sold at multiple retailers, including Kroger, were recalled over contamination concerns — this is a product-safety headline that could bring short-term reputational and operational noise. 3 million bottles of eye drops sold at H-E-B, Walgreens, Kroger and CVS recalled over potential contamination

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,169,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,821,546,000 after buying an additional 868,529 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Kroger by 61.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,367,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,249,307,000 after buying an additional 12,652,261 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Kroger by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,948,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,153,622,000 after buying an additional 386,503 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 13,398,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $837,113,000 after buying an additional 1,360,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Kroger by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,242,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,932,000 after buying an additional 122,606 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $72.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.55. Kroger has a 1-year low of $58.60 and a 1-year high of $76.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $35.10 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 0.69%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.