Kroger (NYSE:KR) Releases FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

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

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock traded up $3.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.81. 10,791,860 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,868,815. The company has a market cap of $48.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company's 50 day moving average is $62.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.00. Kroger has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $67.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

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Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on KR. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 169,559 shares of company stock worth $10,587,476. 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 position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 27.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,733 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.