Telsey Advisory Group Reduces Earnings Estimates for Kroger

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) – Research analysts at Telsey Advisory Group decreased their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Kroger in a research report issued on Thursday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now expects that the company will post earnings of $4.45 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $4.48. 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. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Kroger’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.56 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.00 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.04 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.19 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.79 EPS.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $65.35 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $61.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.95. Kroger has a one year low of $46.96 and a one year high of $66.18. The stock has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend 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.