Kroger (KR) ended the recent trading session at $55.76, demonstrating a -3.09% change from the preceding day's closing price. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.21%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.97%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 2.15%.
The supermarket chain's shares have seen a decrease of 1.61% over the last month, not keeping up with the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 2.27% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Kroger in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.05, showcasing a 0.96% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $34.78 billion, up 2.47% from the year-ago period.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $5.21 per share and a revenue of $151.36 billion, indicating changes of +7.42% and +2.52%, respectively, from the former year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Kroger. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.12% lower. Kroger currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, Kroger is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 11.04. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 14.47.
Investors should also note that KR has a PEG ratio of 1.54 right now. 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 average PEG ratio for the Retail - Supermarkets industry stood at 1.94 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 219, finds itself in the bottom 11% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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The Kroger Co. (KR): Free Stock Analysis Report
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