Kroger (KR) ended the recent trading session at $63.19, demonstrating a +1.12% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.06%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.17%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.06%.
Shares of the supermarket chain witnessed a loss of 0.48% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Retail-Wholesale sector with its gain of 5.39%, and the S&P 500's gain of 1.99%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Kroger in its upcoming release. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.2, indicating a 5.26% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $35.18 billion, indicating a 2.55% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $4.79 per share and revenue of $148.1 billion, indicating changes of +7.16% and +0.66%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Kroger. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. 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, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.03% higher. At present, Kroger boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Kroger has a Forward P/E ratio of 13.05 right now. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 15.64.
Also, we should mention that KR has a PEG ratio of 1.75. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. Retail - Supermarkets stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.28 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 189, finds itself in the bottom 23% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming 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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