In the latest trading session, Kroger (KR) closed at $66.34, marking a -1.7% move from the previous day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.1% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.21%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.72%.
Shares of the supermarket chain witnessed a loss of 0.95% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Retail-Wholesale sector with its gain of 10.27% and the S&P 500's gain of 9.86%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Kroger in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.44, up 0.7% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $45.38 billion, up 0.25% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $149.08 billion, which would represent changes of +6.04% and +1.33%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Kroger. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Currently, Kroger is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Kroger is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 14.23. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.25.
We can additionally observe that KR currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.02. 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 currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.76 as of yesterday's close.
The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 48, which puts it in the top 20% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. 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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