Kroger (NYSE:KR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Kroger reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.04, surpassing estimates of $1.00, and an annual increase from last year's $0.93 EPS.
• The company has increased its annual dividend to $1.40, representing a 2.1% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 38.15%.
• Kroger's updated FY 2025 guidance estimates earnings per share between $4.700 and $4.800.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger updated its FY 2025 guidance to 4.700-4.800 EPS.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $67.03 on Thursday. Kroger has a 1 year low of $50.69 and a 1 year high of $74.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.46 and a 200-day moving average of $68.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.15%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total value of $1,890,387.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at $6,989,581.50. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the sale, the vice president owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Kroger by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 56,243 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,807,000 after buying an additional 16,270 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 97,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,978,000 after buying an additional 10,051 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,840,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,041,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,675,000 after buying an additional 32,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on KR. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.58.

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.

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