Renaissance Technologies LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Posted by George Bondi on Aug 16th, 2026

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Free Report) by 63.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,700 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $470,561,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 299.6% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,420,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,721 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in Kroger by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,445,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,966 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 13,398,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $837,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360,946 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 95.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,434,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,638,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,127 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Kroger

Kroger News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

Positive Sentiment: Kroger appointed former Jet.com and Walmart executive Nate Faust as its first chief e-commerce officer. His mandate includes simplifying the digital business, improving supply-chain efficiency and strengthening online grocery fulfillment—initiatives that could improve growth and margins over time. What Could Kroger Gain From Its New Ecommerce Chief And Texas Fresh Push?
Positive Sentiment: BrightFarms expanded locally grown greenhouse greens into more than 1,000 Kroger stores in the Dallas area, giving the company additional fresh-produce offerings and a potential way to attract shoppers. Kroger is also planning a new Marketplace store in Northern Kentucky. Kroger Marketplace coming to NKY amid Publix threat
Neutral Sentiment: Kroger said it will hold its second-quarter 2026 earnings call on September 11. The announcement provides a date for investors to assess sales trends, traffic, e-commerce progress and the company’s outlook, but contains no new financial information. Kroger Announces Second Quarter Conference Call with Investors
Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate Kroger has closed at least 39 stores across nine banners and plans to shutter 60 locations as part of a nationwide overhaul. Closures may reduce near-term sales and highlight pressure on underperforming stores, even if they eventually lower costs. Major Supermarket Chain Closures
Negative Sentiment: Kroger’s customer traffic reportedly ranked 13th among 16 retailers in July and has been declining, raising concerns about market-share losses to Walmart, Publix and other competitors. Analysts and industry observers also described the company’s e-commerce operation as overly complex, increasing execution risk for the new digital chief. Kroger’s traffic has been declining
Negative Sentiment: A recall involving products sold at Kroger and other retailers over a salmonella outbreak adds a potential reputational and operational risk, although the reported information does not quantify any financial impact. Kroger Products Recalled Over Salmonella Outbreak

Kroger Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $56.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.73 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.43. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $54.15 and a 52-week high of $76.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $58.60 and a 200 day moving average of $64.92.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Kroger’s payout ratio is 82.35%.

About Kroger

(Free Report)

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.