Brokers Offer Predictions for Kroger’s Q1 Earnings (NYSE:KR)

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) – Equities research analysts at Telsey Advisory Group reduced their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Kroger in a report issued on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $1.44 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.56. Telsey Advisory Group has a “Outperform” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Kroger’s current full-year earnings is $4.44 per share. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Kroger’s Q4 2026 earnings at $1.25 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.14 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $66.56 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Kroger has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $68.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.51 and a 200-day moving average of $59.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 292,813 shares of company stock worth $19,131,375 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.