Kroger (NYSE:KR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Kroger (NYSE:KR) posted its earnings results on Friday. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04, RTT News reports. Kroger had a net margin of 1.81% and a return on equity of 28.17%. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger updated its FY 2025 guidance to 4.600-4.800 EPS.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $71.85 on Friday. Kroger has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $73.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 82,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,711,810.72. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,679 shares of company stock worth $7,865,706 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Kroger stock. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 40.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,243 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,270 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KR shares. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday. Eight 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.11.

About Kroger

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.