In the latest trading session, Kroger (KR) closed at $57.86, marking a -3.36% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.66%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.19%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 2.78%.
Shares of the supermarket chain witnessed a gain of 6.45% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Retail-Wholesale sector with its gain of 0.61%, and the S&P 500's loss of 1.49%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Kroger in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.05, signifying a 0.96% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $34.78 billion, indicating a 2.47% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.21 per share and revenue of $151.36 billion, which would represent changes of +7.42% and +2.52%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes 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 business and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.04% lower. Kroger is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Looking at valuation, Kroger is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 11.49. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 14.96 for its industry.
One should further note that KR currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.61. 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 was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.01 at yesterday's closing price.
The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 229, this industry ranks in the bottom 7% of all industries, numbering over 250.
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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.
See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
The Kroger Co. (KR): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).