The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) - Analysts at Telsey Advisory Group lifted their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Kroger in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, December 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $4.48 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $4.45. Telsey Advisory Group has a "Outperform" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Kroger's current full-year earnings is $4.44 per share. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Kroger's Q4 2025 earnings at $1.11 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.23 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.06 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.36 EPS.
A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on KR. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.79.
Check Out Our Latest Report on KR
Kroger stock opened at $61.83 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $58.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $44.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. Kroger has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $63.59.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year.
Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 202,370 shares of company stock worth $12,530,170 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 884,609 shares of the company's stock worth $50,688,000 after purchasing an additional 40,914 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 13,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,269,478 shares of the company's stock worth $125,426,000 after acquiring an additional 281,878 shares during the period. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth approximately $4,037,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Kroger by 3.7% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
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