Kroger (KR) ended the recent trading session at $73.73, demonstrating a +2.76% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.73%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.18%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.21%.
Coming into today, shares of the supermarket chain had gained 2.88% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector lost 1.16%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.47%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Kroger in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.99, showcasing a 6.45% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $34.07 billion, up 0.47% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.76 per share and revenue of $148.7 billion, which would represent changes of +6.49% and +1.07%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Kroger should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.06% upward. Kroger is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Investors should also note Kroger's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 15.07. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 15.26.
Also, we should mention that KR has a PEG ratio of 2.29. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Retail - Supermarkets industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.95 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 100, putting it in the top 41% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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The Kroger Co. (KR): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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