Kroger (NYSE:KR) Given Outperform Rating at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reissued their outperform rating on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Kroger’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.11 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.48 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.59 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.15 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.23 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.06 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.36 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.79.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of KR opened at $61.83 on Monday. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $44.48 and a fifty-two week high of $63.59. The company has a market capitalization of $44.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 202,370 shares of company stock worth $12,530,170. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Kroger in the second quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.