Kroger (NYSE:KR) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Kroger (NYSE:KR) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided EPS guidance of 4.450- for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 4.450. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Kroger Trading Up 0.5 %

KR opened at $63.23 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $62.15 and its 200-day moving average is $58.79. Kroger has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $66.26. The company has a market cap of $45.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. 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 (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Kroger stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,733 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.