Telsey Advisory Group Reduces Earnings Estimates for Kroger

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) – Investment analysts at Telsey Advisory Group lowered their FY2027 EPS estimates for Kroger in a research note issued on Thursday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $5.10 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $5.36. Telsey Advisory Group has a “Outperform” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Kroger’s current full-year earnings is $4.44 per share.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on KR. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $65.66 on Friday. Kroger has a 52-week low of $45.17 and a 52-week high of $66.18. The firm has a market cap of $47.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.24 and its 200 day moving average is $57.75.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Kroger by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after purchasing an additional 43,143 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 145,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 57.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 537,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,820,000 after purchasing an additional 195,557 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 35,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.