Kroger’s (KR) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group restated their outperform rating on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Kroger’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.11 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.48 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.59 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.15 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.23 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.06 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.36 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.79.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $61.83 on Monday. Kroger has a 12 month low of $44.48 and a 12 month high of $63.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.38.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 202,370 shares of company stock worth $12,530,170. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,210,000 after purchasing an additional 11,541 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,749,000 after buying an additional 6,751 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth $212,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11.7% in the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 134,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,736,000 after acquiring an additional 14,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 8.2% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.