What to Expect When Kroger Reports Thursday Morning
Kroger is scheduled to release its fiscal first quarter financial results before the markets open on Wednesday. The consensus estimates are calling for $0.72 in earnings per share (EPS) and $37.21 billion in revenue. The same period from last year…
The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR | KR Price Prediction) is scheduled to release its fiscal first-quarter financial results before the markets open on Thursday. The consensus estimates are calling for $0.72 in earnings per share (EPS) and $37.21 billion in revenue. The same period from last year had $0.73 in EPS and $37.53 billion in revenue.
In its fiscal fourth quarter, Kroger’s total sales decreased 9.5% year over year. Excluding fuel, the 53rd week in fiscal 2017, the divestiture of the convenience store business unit and the merger with the meal-kit company Home Chef, total sales increased 1.6% year over year.
One of the main highlights Kroger pointed to this quarter was that it grew digital sales by 58% year over year, achieving over $1 billion in cost savings. The firm also raised its dividend for the 12th consecutive year, an increase of 12%.
While Kroger got dragged for those results at the time, it still offers investment opportunity as one of a few companies that is shielded from a potential trade war with the likes of China.
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Excluding Wednesday’s move in the stock price, Kroger has underperformed the broad markets with its stock actually down 13% year to date. In the past 52 weeks, the stock is down closer to 7.5%.
A few analysts weighed in on Kroger ahead of Thursday’s report:
- BMO Capital Markets has a market perform rating with a $24 price target.
- Merrill Lynch has a buy rating with a $30 price target.
- Sanford Bernstein has an outperform rating with a $33 price target.
- Scotiabank has a buy rating with a $32 price target.
Shares of Kroger were last seen down over 1% at $23.63, with a 52-week range of $22.44 to $32.74. The consensus analyst price target is $28.09.
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Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics. Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications. A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.
