Telsey Advisory Group Cuts Earnings Estimates for Kroger

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) – Analysts at Telsey Advisory Group cut their FY2027 earnings estimates for Kroger in a research report issued on Thursday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $5.10 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $5.36. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Kroger’s current full-year earnings is $4.44 per share.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. 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.

KR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm boosted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Kroger Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $65.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.83. The firm has a market cap of $47.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. Kroger has a 12-month low of $45.88 and a 12-month high of $66.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KR. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP lifted its stake in Kroger by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 37,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,285,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,038,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 1,045.0% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,562,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,553,000 after buying an additional 1,426,131 shares in the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,963,000. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 18,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase 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 shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

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.