In the latest trading session, Kroger (KR) closed at $68.68, marking a -2.72% move from the previous day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 1.08%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.31%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.55%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the supermarket chain had gained 2.6% outpaced the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 1.24% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 3.34%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Kroger in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, Kroger is projected to report earnings of $1.58 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 6.04%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $45.4 billion, indicating a 0.62% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.24 per share and revenue of $149.76 billion, which would represent changes of +8.04% and +1.44%, respectively, from the prior year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Kroger. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending 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 varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.02% lower. Kroger presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Kroger's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 13.47. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 14.69.
Investors should also note that KR has a PEG ratio of 1.88 right now. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Retail - Supermarkets industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.04.
The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 206, this industry ranks in the bottom 16% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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The Kroger Co. (KR): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).