Kroger (NYSE:KR) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Kroger (NYSE:KR) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. Kroger updated its FY 2024 guidance to 4.300-4.500 EPS and its FY25 guidance to $4.30-4.50 EPS.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $55.91 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $53.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. Kroger has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Company Profile

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.