Kroger (NYSE:KR) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Kroger (NYSE:KR) released its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04, RTT News reports. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.17% and a net margin of 1.81%. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger updated its FY 2025 guidance to 4.600-4.800 EPS.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR traded up $6.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.85. The stock had a trading volume of 35,151,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,835,366. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.96. Kroger has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $73.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Kroger stock. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 40.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on KR. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.