Kroger (NYSE:KR) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Kroger (NYSE:KR) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $33.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.27 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 0.54%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Kroger updated its FY 2025 guidance to 4.750-4.800 EPS.

Kroger Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:KR opened at $62.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $66.43 and its 200 day moving average is $68.21. Kroger has a 12 month low of $57.69 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a PE ratio of 58.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,948,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,153,622,000 after buying an additional 386,503 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Kroger by 15.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,327,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,515,000 after purchasing an additional 865,559 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,991,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010,457 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 49.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,815,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,774,000 after buying an additional 930,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Kroger by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,743,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,763,000 after buying an additional 260,753 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KR. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 26th. Argus set a $85.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.61.

Kroger Company Profile

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.