Kroger (NYSE:KR) Issues FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

Kroger (NYSE:KR) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 4.600-4.800 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 4.810. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Kroger Stock Down 1.1 %

Kroger stock opened at $62.52 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.82. The stock has a market cap of $45.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. Kroger has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $66.26. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

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

About Kroger

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.