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

Kroger (NYSE:KR) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business 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 Up 1.3 %

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.91. The company had a trading volume of 5,607,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,006,970. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.62. Kroger has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.09.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.