OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,378 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,066 shares during the quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 13,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $916,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 16.8% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Kroger by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 18,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Kroger News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New CEO Greg Foran (former Walmart exec) is expected to push cost-cutting, operational streamlining and margin improvement, which investors often view favorably for grocers facing margin pressure. This leadership change likely drove some of the stock’s intraday activity. Former Walmart exec reveals what Kroger can expect from its first outside CEO Kroger’s New CEO Brings Walmart Experience To Cost Focus And Margins
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger expanded pharmacy/wellness offerings — including GLP-1 savings programs and free virtual dietitian consults — which can support pharmacy revenue and customer loyalty over time. These initiatives are strategically relevant given healthcare tailwinds in retail. Savings Programs that offer Affordable Access to GLP-1s Available at Kroger
• Neutral Sentiment: Local real estate and store activity: Kroger is breaking ground on new stores (McKinney, Perry) and opening remodeled locations; these are execution items that matter regionally but have limited immediate impact on the company-wide stock move. Kroger starts construction on new McKinney store and reveals opening date
• Neutral Sentiment: Customer perception: Kroger was cited among top grocery stores in a recent survey — a branding/retention positive but not an immediate earnings driver. Kroger among best grocery stores in the US, survey reveals
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo downgraded Kroger from overweight to equal-weight and trimmed its price target to $68, reducing near-term analyst support and likely contributing to selling pressure. Benzinga coverage of downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Operational noise — reports of store closures and local exits in some markets (e.g., references to 60-store closures and vacancy in a commerce park) create short-term uncertainty about footprint optimization and costs. Kroger has begun to close 60 stores after failed merger Lake County seeking new tenants for commerce park after Kroger exit

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Kroger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore set a $77.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.93.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $67.57 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $58.60 and a 12-month high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 0.54%.The firm had revenue of $33.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.750-4.800 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 129.63%.

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.