Telsey Advisory Group Expects Weaker Earnings for Kroger

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) – Stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group decreased their FY2025 earnings estimates for Kroger in a report released on Thursday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now forecasts that the company will earn $4.45 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.48. Telsey Advisory Group has a “Outperform” rating and a $73.00 price objective 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.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.19.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $65.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Kroger has a 1-year low of $46.96 and a 1-year high of $66.18. The company has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.95.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, 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 value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. 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 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.