Kroger FY2027 EPS Forecast Reduced by Telsey Advisory Group

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

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

KR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group increased 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. Evercore ISI increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Kroger Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:KR opened at $65.20 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.83. Kroger has a 52 week low of $45.88 and a 52 week high of $66.18. The company has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.