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

Kroger (NYSE:KR) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. Kroger updated its FY 2024 guidance to 4.300-4.500 EPS and its FY25 guidance to $4.30-4.50 EPS.

Kroger Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of KR traded up $0.71 on Friday, hitting $55.91. 5,607,388 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,006,970. Kroger has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $53.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Argus lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.