Kroger (KR) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Kroger (NYSE:KR) will likely be releasing its earnings data 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.Persons that are interested in participating in 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Kroger to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Kroger Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $63.71 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $61.96 and its 200 day moving average is $58.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. Kroger has a 1 year low of $47.35 and a 1 year high of $66.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on KR. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.