Kroger (NYSE:KR) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Kroger (NYSE:KR) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Kroger updated its FY25 guidance to $4.35-4.45 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 4.350-4.450 EPS.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $59.24 on Friday. Kroger has a twelve month low of $43.51 and a twelve month high of $61.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.57. The company has a market capitalization of $42.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm increased 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.33.

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.