Kroger (KR) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Kroger (NYSE:KR) is expected to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, March 6th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.09 per share and revenue of $34.96 billion for the quarter. Kroger has set its FY25 guidance at $4.35-4.45 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance at 4.350-4.450 EPS.Persons interested in listening to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Kroger to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $63.23 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $62.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. Kroger has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $66.26.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Kroger stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,733 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.