Kroger (NYSE:KR) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

Kroger (NYSE:KR) announced its earnings results on Friday. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.05, MarketWatch Earnings reports. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.96% and a net margin of 1.71%. The company had revenue of $33.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger updated its FY24 guidance to $4.45-4.60 EPS and its FY 2023 guidance to $4.45-$4.60 EPS.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded up $1.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.94. The company had a trading volume of 16,746,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,185,723. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.44. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $41.81 and a fifty-two week high of $52.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 12.2% in the first quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 17,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.9% in the first quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 11,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 3.4% during the first quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFS Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 35,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Kroger from $75.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Kroger from $56.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Kroger from $54.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.33.

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.