Kroger (NYSE:KR) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Kroger (NYSE:KR) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 4.300-4.500 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 4.440. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Kroger also updated its FY25 guidance to $4.30-4.50 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KR. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $59.09.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $55.91 on Friday. Kroger has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.66.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.