Telsey Advisory Group Weighs in on Kroger FY2027 Earnings

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) – Telsey Advisory Group reduced their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for Kroger in a research note issued on Thursday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $5.10 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $5.36. Telsey Advisory Group has a “Outperform” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Kroger’s current full-year earnings is $4.44 per share.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on KR. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.20 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.24 and a 200 day moving average of $57.75. Kroger has a 52 week low of $45.88 and a 52 week high of $66.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,027,979,000 after acquiring an additional 773,182 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Kroger by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,002,479,000 after acquiring an additional 416,962 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,060,000 after acquiring an additional 120,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $598,390,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% 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.