Kroger gains as profit outlook holds despite softer sales guidance

The Kroger Co. (KR) is up 4.2% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears tied to Kroger’s second-quarter earnings release, which showed steadier profitability than the market may have feared even as the company trimmed its full-year identical-sales outlook. Investors also seem to be responding to management’s decision to reaffirm full-year EPS guidance, along with continued growth in higher-value businesses such as eCommerce, pharmacy, media, and fuel.

Details:

Kroger posted second-quarter EPS of $1.05 and adjusted EPS of $1.09, while operating profit rose to $971 million and adjusted FIFO operating profit reached $1.076 billion.

Second-quarter identical sales without fuel increased 0.2%, and the company said that figure included an approximately 138-basis-point unfavorable impact from the Inflation Reduction Act.

Management lowered full-year identical-sales guidance to 0.2% to 0.8%, but kept full-year EPS guidance unchanged at $5.10 to $5.30, signaling confidence in margin management and earnings durability.

Adjusted eCommerce sales grew 20%, Kroger Precision Marketing profit increased 24%, and the company repurchased $1.0 billion of shares during the quarter after also raising its dividend earlier this summer.

Sources:

Kroger, SEC, Zacks

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$KR Insider Trading Activity

$KR insiders have traded $KR stock on the open market 1 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 1 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $KR stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

YAEL COSSET (Executive Vice President) sold 30,000 shares for an estimated $1,764,000

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

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$KR Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 659 institutional investors add shares of $KR stock to their portfolio, and 771 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

GQG PARTNERS LLC removed 12,702,807 shares (-99.7%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $705,386,872
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC removed 11,000,000 shares (-22.0%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $610,830,000
WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT GROUP LLP removed 6,549,346 shares (-27.9%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $363,685,183
SIXTH STREET PARTNERS MANAGEMENT COMPANY, L.P. added 4,843,158 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $268,940,563
ALYESKA INVESTMENT GROUP, L.P. removed 4,445,479 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $324,519,967
MORGAN STANLEY removed 3,162,701 shares (-25.2%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $175,624,786
PACER ADVISORS, INC. added 3,056,681 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $169,737,495

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$KR Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $KR stock 4 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 3 have been purchases and 1 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $KR stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:

REPRESENTATIVE DAVID TAYLOR has traded it 4 times. They made 3 purchases worth up to $45,000 on 07/24, 06/05 and 1 sale worth up to $15,000 on 03/24.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard. You can access data on congressional stock trades through the Quiver Quantitative API Congress trades endpoint.

$KR Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $KR recently. We have seen 8 analysts offer price targets for $KR in the last 6 months, with a median target of $68.5.

Here are some recent targets:

Michael Montani from Evercore ISI Group set a target price of $78.0 on 07/07/2026
John Heinbockel from Guggenheim set a target price of $71.0 on 07/02/2026
Paul Lejuez from Citigroup set a target price of $61.0 on 06/23/2026
Seth Sigman from Barclays set a target price of $61.0 on 06/22/2026
Simeon Gutman from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $67.0 on 06/22/2026
Michael Lasser from UBS set a target price of $63.0 on 06/22/2026
Joseph Feldman from Telsey Advisory Group set a target price of $78.0 on 06/22/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.