Kroger (KR) Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Kroger (NYSE:KR) is projected to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, March 6th. Analysts expect Kroger to post 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.Individual that are interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

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

Kroger stock opened at $63.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $45.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. Kroger has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $66.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Kroger stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,733 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

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.