DailyIQ
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Sector:Consumer DefensiveAll sectors
Last updatedUpdating…

KR·The Kroger Co.

$62.03
+1.29 (+2.12%)
High
$62.06
Open
$61.16
Market Cap
36.42B
52W High
$76.58
Low
$60.90
P. Close
$62.03
P/E
33.57
52W Low
$53.63
Fwd P/E
11.04
DailyIQ Est.
$70.09
Inst. Ownership
46.9%
Short Interest
5.23%
Days to Cover
3.5
Div. Yield
2.37%
Next Ex-Div
~Nov 13
Div. Growth
19+ yrs
Technical Score (1D)
77
BULLISH
News Sentiment
35
BEARISH
On Oct 13, Kroger announced plans to eliminate roughly 3,000 corporate positions over the next three years, a reduction that would account for about 37% of its 8,200‑person corporate workforce. The company said the cuts are part of a broader restructuring aimed at reducing duplicated work, simplifying decision‑making, and accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence across operations. Kroger also indicated that the savings from the job eliminations would be redirected toward lower retail prices and increased investment in store‑level staff to better compete with Walmart and Aldi. The announcement followed a prior elimination of about 1,000 corporate roles in June 2025, underscoring a rapid reduction in the corporate cost base. The restructuring is intended to streamline back‑office workflows and support deeper AI integration, according to the company’s statement.
LOW TARGET
$57 -8.1%
2 analysts
MEAN TARGET
$68 +10.1%
18 analysts
HIGH TARGET
$85 +37.0%
15 analysts
PRICE RANGE
$57.00 - $85.00
SB / B / H / S / SS
9/10/14/1/1
DAILYIQ EST.
$70.09 (+13.0%)
Sector
Consumer Defensive
Industry
Grocery Stores
Exchange
NYQ
Country
United States
Website
thekrogerco.com
Symbol
KR
Description
The Kroger Co. is a prominent U.S. retailer specializing in food and pharmaceuticals, operating a diverse portfolio of store formats. These include combination food and drug stores, offering a broad selection of groceries, pharmacy services, and general merchandise, alongside specialized departments for natural and organic foods. Kroger also operates multi-department stores with expanded offerings like apparel, home goods, and electronics, and marketplace stores that combine grocery staples with general merchandise. Furthermore, the company utilizes price impact warehouse stores to provide value-focused grocery and health and beauty products. Kroger supplements its retail presence with internal food manufacturing and processing capabilities, and operates fuel centers, solidifying its position as a comprehensive provider of consumer goods.
Bought (1Y)
0 shares
$0
Sold (1Y)
105,465 shares
$6.3M
Vincent George H.Executive Vice President
Tax Withholding1,677 shares2026-09-25
Shaffer Megan N.Group Vice President
Tax Withholding269 shares2026-09-25
DEMARTINO EMILEE F.Executive Vice President
Award/Grant12,769 shares2026-09-25
Adcock Mary EllenExecutive Vice President
Option Exercise10,846 shares2026-09-18
Adcock Mary EllenExecutive Vice President
Option Exercise37,960 shares2026-09-18
View full insider trading history →
56/ 100
Neutral / mixed
Overall: Neutral
✓Revenue growing year over year
✓Positive net margin
✓Positive operating cash flow
Net Margin
0.7%
Revenue CAGR
4.2%
Current Ratio
0.80x
Debt / Equity
2.68x
Return on Equity
17.1%
View full financials →
Earnings Summary
The Kroger Co. is a leading U.S. retailer that operates a diverse portfolio of grocery and pharmacy stores, including combination food and drug formats, multi‑department stores, marketplace outlets, and price‑impact warehouse stores, while also maintaining internal food manufacturing and fuel center operations. As a consumer‑defensive grocery chain, Kroger faces intense price competition and rising operating costs, yet it leverages its scale and omnichannel capabilities to sustain demand. In the most recent quarters, Q4 2024 and Q1 2025, Kroger posted EPS of $1.14 and $1.49 respectively, both beating analyst estimates of $1.11 and $1.46, and revenue of $34.31 billion and $45.12 billion, reflecting a strong 31% YoY growth in Q1 2025. The following quarter, Q2 2025, saw EPS rise to $1.04 from $0.99, again beating estimates, while revenue dipped slightly to $33.94 billion, indicating a modest deceleration in top‑line momentum. Historically, Kroger has maintained a consistent pattern of revenue growth even when EPS margins fluctuate; the company beat revenue estimates in three of the last four quarters while EPS has been mixed, with a recent miss in Q3 2025 where EPS of $1.05 fell short of the $1.03 estimate. This trend underscores the company’s ability to drive sales through its extensive store network and digital services, though margin pressure remains a concern. Recent news highlights include a routine leadership transition with the retirement of Colleen Lindholz, President of Kroger Health, and a BNP Paribas rating upgrade citing improved earnings outlook and margin expansion plans. The upgrade coincided with a Q2 2025 revenue beat, yet the stock fell 5.7% post‑earnings, reflecting investor unease over ongoing competitive dynamics and operating costs.

EPS

EstBeatMiss
$0.91$1.10$1.30$1.49$1.68Q4'24Q1'25Q2'25Q3'25Q1'27Q2'27
QtrEstActual+/−
Q2'27$1.17 - -
Q1'27$1.59$1.58-0.8%
Q3'25$1.03$1.05+1.7%
Q2'25$1.00$1.04+4.2%
Q1'25$1.46$1.49+2.2%
Q4'24$1.11$1.14+2.5%

Revenue

EstBeatMiss
$31.9B$36.1B$40.3B$44.6B$48.8BQ4'24Q1'25Q2'25Q3'25Q1'27Q2'27
QtrEstActual+/−
Q2'27$34.7B - -
Q1'27$46.8B$46.1B-1.5%
Q3'25 - $33.9B -
Q2'25 - $33.9B -
Q1'25 - $45.1B -
Q4'24 - $34.3B -
Full Earnings BreakdownEstimates, actuals, guidance, and historical context
→

Market Data

KR Stock Snapshot

BULLISH77/100
$62.03+$1.29 (2.1%)
Market cap
36.42B
P/E ratio
33.6
Day range
$60.90 – $62.06
News sentiment
35/100 · Bearish
Analyst target
$68.32 (+10.1%)
Consensus
Hold · 35 analysts
52-week range+15.7% off low · -19.0% from high
$53.63$76.58
Price $62.03 DailyIQ Est. $70.09

The Kroger Co. ranks ahead of most of DailyIQ's universe on 12-month price momentum. Sector peers are worth watching - large caps in Consumer Defensive tend to move together on rotation.

Reverse DCF

What growth is priced into KR?

CHEAP

At today's price, The Kroger Co. needs to grow free cash flow about -12.8% a year for the next 10 years to justify its valuation at a 6.00% cost of capital. Over its actual history it has compounded free cash flow at 9.2% a year, so the market is asking for 22.0 percentage points below its own delivered rate. On that basis KR looks priced below what its own growth record supports.

Implied FCF growth
-12.8%
Historical FCF CAGR
9.2%
Growth gap
-22.0 pts
Verdict
CHEAP
Discount rate (WACC)
6.00%
Beta
0.30

Behaviour On Record

What KR's own history says about today's numbers

Realized volatility (21d)
29.1% 74th pct
Below its peak
-19.7%
vs 200-day average
-4.2%
Up days (1y)
47%

The Kroger Co. is currently running 29.1% annualised volatility over the last 21 sessions. Measured against KR's own 13 years of daily returns rather than a market-wide average, that is the 74th percentile — a little above its own norm, against a typical reading of 23.1%. The distinction matters because a number that looks calm for one stock is turbulent for another, and the absolute figure on its own tells you neither.

KR is trading -19.7% below its running peak. Across 12 full years on file, its median worst-drawdown-in-a-year was -18.9%, and the deepest was -42.8% in 2017. The current drawdown is already deeper than this stock's typical annual low point, which puts it in the part of its range where past recoveries began — and where past declines also continued.

Price sits -4.2% from its 200-day moving average. Against every other day in its history, that gap ranks at the 24th percentile — a narrower gap than it typically runs. Over the past year KR closed higher on 47% of sessions, and it is currently 1 session into a falling streak.

On October specifically: over 13 years of records, KR finished the month higher 9 of 13 times, with a median return of +3.4% and an average of +2.1%. Its strongest month historically has been November at +5.1% on average, its weakest September at -2.5%. Seasonality is a weak signal on its own — a decade is a small sample and regimes change — but it is a real distribution rather than a rule of thumb.

Overnight risk is measurable too: KR has opened more than 2% away from the prior close in 45 of 3,267 sessions (1.4% of the time), with the largest gaps running +5.7% and -5.6%. For anyone holding through an event, that rate is a better guide to overnight exposure than the intraday range.

All figures computed from 3,268 daily closes between 2013-10-15 and 2026-10-13, split-adjusted, recomputed daily. Percentiles are against KR's own 13-year history, not a peer group or index.

Sector Rotation

Is money rotating into or out of KR's sector?

The Kroger Co. sits in the Consumer Staples sector, currently ranked 5th of 12 GICS sectors by relative-strength rotation score (leading).

Sector rank
#5 of 12
Sector state
Leading
Sector rotation score
82

Options Market

What is the options market pricing for KR?

CallsPuts

For The Kroger Co.'s nearest expiry (2026-10-16, 2 days out), open interest is call-heavy, a bullish tilt (put/call ratio of 0.34), with at-the-money implied volatility around 26.9%. The options market is pricing roughly a ±2.0% move by that expiry — a range of about $60.28–$62.74.

Put/call ratio (2026-10-16)
0.34
ATM implied volatility
26.9%
Total open interest
42,710
Expected move by 2026-10-16
±2.0% ($60.28–$62.74)

Analyst Rating Changes

Are analysts turning bullish or bearish on KR?

Guggenheim most recently reiterated its rating on The Kroger Co. to Buy on Sep 15, 2026 with a price target of $66 (from $71). Over the last 90 days, coverage has run 0 upgrades against 0 downgrades, a net mixed lean.

Latest action
Guggenheim — Buy
90-day upgrades
0
90-day downgrades
0
Net rating momentum
0
DateFirmActionRatingPrice target
Sep 15, 2026GuggenheimMaintainedBuy$71 → $66
Sep 14, 2026Telsey Advisory GroupMaintainedOutperform$78 → $75
Sep 14, 2026Evercore ISI GroupMaintainedOutperform$75 → $70
Sep 1, 2026CitigroupMaintainedNeutral$61 → $57
Aug 11, 2026Evercore ISI GroupMaintainedOutperform$78 → $75
Jul 7, 2026Evercore ISI GroupMaintainedOutperform$80 → $78
Jul 2, 2026GuggenheimReiteratedBuy$71
Jun 23, 2026CitigroupMaintainedNeutral$71 → $61
Jun 22, 2026UBSMaintainedNeutral$70 → $63
Jun 22, 2026Telsey Advisory GroupMaintainedOutperform$82 → $78
Jun 22, 2026GuggenheimMaintainedBuy$78 → $71
Jun 22, 2026BarclaysMaintainedEqual-Weight$68 → $61

ETF holders

ETFs holding KR

Top ETF holdersWeight

News Sentiment Analysis

Sentiment gathered from recent headlines

35/100
Strong NegativeNeutralStrong Positive
BEARISH

Recent News Coverage

Most recent articles, ranked by recency (click to expand).

10+ articles
What did this article say?
Kroger (KR) announced plans to eliminate roughly 3,000 corporate positions over the next three years, representing about 37% of its 8,200‑person corporate workforce. The cuts are part of a broader restructuring aimed at reducing duplicated work, simplifying decision‑making, and accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence across operations. The company intends to redirect savings toward lower retail prices and increased investment in store‑level staff to better compete with Walmart and Aldi. This move follows a prior elimination of about 1,000 corporate roles in June 2025, underscoring a rapid reduction in the corporate cost base.
What did this article say?
Kroger announced a new initiative to integrate artificial intelligence into the grocery shopping experience, partnering with Albertsons to streamline ordering and delivery. The program aims to automate product selection, personalize recommendations, and reduce checkout times. By leveraging AI, KR seeks to enhance customer convenience and compete with emerging digital grocery platforms. The move reflects KR’s broader strategy to invest in technology that improves operational efficiency and customer engagement.
What did this article say?
Kroger’s stock, trading at US$61.41, has fallen year‑to‑date despite delivering a 75% return over the past five years. Analysts are scrutinizing whether the company’s earnings can justify the current valuation, especially after recent product launches and partnerships. The introduction of the Kroger Rewards Elite Mastercard, powered by Imprint’s AI‑driven platform, aims to strengthen customer loyalty and potentially stabilize earnings. However, the market remains uncertain about the long‑term impact of these initiatives on profitability.
What did this article say?
On October 9, Kroger (NYSE:KR) announced that Colleen Lindholz, President of Kroger Health, would retire after more than 30 years with the company. Lindholz had led the Food as Medicine platform, overseeing pharmacy, clinic, and wellness programs across the chain. Her departure marks a leadership transition within Kroger Health, potentially impacting the integration of healthcare services with the grocery business. The move is viewed as a routine succession rather than a disruptive event. Investors may monitor how the new leadership will sustain the health initiatives that have been a strategic focus for the retailer.
What did this article say?
BNP Paribas upgraded Kroger’s rating, citing improved earnings outlook and resilient grocery demand. The upgrade lifted the stock, reflecting confidence in the company’s cost‑control initiatives and margin expansion plans. Analysts noted Kroger’s continued investment in technology and supply‑chain efficiencies as key drivers. The rating change is expected to support the stock’s upward trajectory in the near term.
What did this article say?
Kroger reported Q2 earnings that surpassed revenue estimates, indicating stronger top‑line performance. However, the company’s share price fell by about 5.7% since the earnings release, reflecting investor concerns about margin pressure and competitive dynamics. The grocery sector remains highly competitive, with rising operating costs and growing e‑commerce pressure. Despite the revenue beat, the market reaction suggests that the upside was already priced in and that the company faces ongoing challenges in maintaining profitability.

Technical Analysis

Real-time indicators across multiple timeframes

77
BULLISH
Momentum rank against about 1,000 stocks and ETFs for this timeframe.
Unlock full technicals
Create a free account to access more indicators and deeper timeframe data.
Institutional & Hedge Fund Ownership
25 tracked managers · $16.03B combined position · 11 adding, 14 trimming, 0 unchanged (latest 13F filings)
ManagerTrendShares Held% of Co.Position ValueFiled
Vanguard Group Inc▲ Buy77,169,42512.86%$4.82B2026-01-29
BlackRock, Inc.▲ Buy54,330,2079.05%$3.02B2026-08-07
Berkshire Hathaway Inc▼ Sell39,000,0006.50%$2.17B2026-08-14
Wellington Management Group LLP▼ Sell16,920,6772.82%$939.61M2026-08-14
FMR LLC (Fidelity)▲ Buy16,603,7052.77%$922.00M2026-08-13
Geode Capital Management, LLC▼ Sell15,753,5782.63%$871.50M2026-08-12
Morgan Stanley▼ Sell9,406,7471.57%$522.36M2026-08-13
Goldman Sachs Group Inc▼ Sell8,432,6351.41%$468.26M2026-08-14
Norges Bank▼ Sell6,647,9041.11%$369.16M2026-08-12
Invesco Ltd.▲ Buy6,599,8881.10%$366.49M2026-08-14
Northern Trust Corp▼ Sell6,064,9001.01%$336.78M2026-08-13
AQR Capital Management LLC▲ Buy5,235,0220.87%$289.34M2026-08-14
Bank of America Corp▼ Sell5,085,5020.85%$282.40M2026-08-14
JPMorgan Chase & Co▼ Sell2,556,7890.43%$142.95M2026-08-12
Point72 Asset Management, L.P.▼ Sell1,782,2360.30%$98.97M2026-08-14
Wells Fargo & Company▲ Buy1,333,7480.22%$74.06M2026-08-14
Citigroup Inc▼ Sell1,070,0450.18%$59.42M2026-08-03
Citadel Advisors LLC▲ Buy954,3040.16%$52.99M2026-09-02
AllianceBernstein L.P.▼ Sell653,9470.11%$47.32M2026-08-14
Marshall Wace, LLP▲ Buy665,1110.11%$36.93M2026-08-13
D. E. Shaw & Co., Inc.▼ Sell662,0620.11%$36.76M2026-08-14
Millennium Management LLC▲ Buy551,0740.09%$30.60M2026-08-14
Susquehanna International Group, LLP▲ Buy521,2490.09%$28.94M2026-08-14
Adage Capital Partners GP, L.L.C.▲ Buy505,5000.08%$28.07M2026-08-14
Prudential Financial Inc▼ Sell459,6260.08%$25.52M2026-08-12
Q2 2026 flow:6.86M sh bought ($381.03M)24.94M sh sold ($1.39B)net -18.08M sh (−$1.00B)
View full institutional holdings history →
Congressional Trading Activity
19 disclosed trades · ~$426.5K est. traded value · 13 buys, 6 sells
MemberChamberStateTypeAmountTradedFiled
David J. TaylorHouseOH02▲ Buy$1K - $15K2026-07-242026-08-06
John BoozmanSenateAR▲ Buy$1K - $15K2026-02-262026-03-06
David J. TaylorHouseOH02▲ Buy$1K - $15K2026-01-162026-02-02
Julie JohnsonHouseTX32▲ Buy$1K - $15K2025-10-032026-08-05
David J. TaylorHouseOH02▲ Buy$1K - $15K2025-09-222025-10-07
Jefferson ShreveHouseIN06▼ Sell$15K - $50K2025-05-122025-06-22
David J. TaylorHouseOH02▲ Buy$1K - $15K2025-02-202025-04-03
Jerry MoranSenate-▼ Sell$1K - $15K2023-12-142024-01-17
Tommy TubervilleSenateAL▼ Sell$50K - $100K2023-10-112023-11-16
Tommy TubervilleSenateAL▲ Buy$50K - $100K2023-10-032023-11-16
Tommy TubervilleSenateAL▲ Buy$15K - $50K2023-09-282023-10-13
Tommy TubervilleSenateAL▼ Sell$1K - $15K2023-04-102023-05-12
A. Mitchell Jr. McConnellSenate-▲ Buy$1K - $15K2022-11-292022-12-29
Jerry MoranSenate-▼ Sell$1K - $15K2021-12-212022-01-21
Ron WydenSenateOR▼ Sell$50K - $100K2020-08-242020-09-24
Jerry MoranSenate-▲ Buy$1K - $15K2020-08-212020-09-08
Ron WydenSenateOR▲ Buy$15K - $50K2020-08-192020-08-29
Ron WydenSenateOR▲ Buy$1K - $15K2020-08-052020-08-29
Ron WydenSenateOR▲ Buy$1K - $15K2020-08-042020-08-29
View full congressional trading history →

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