Roth Capital Analysts Lower Earnings Estimates for Kroger

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) – Equities researchers at Roth Capital reduced their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for Kroger in a research report issued on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Capital analyst W. Kirk now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $1.47 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.49. The consensus estimate for Kroger’s current full-year earnings is $4.44 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Kroger’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.97 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.05 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.21 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.72 EPS.

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

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on KR. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.94.

Kroger Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:KR opened at $67.57 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $62.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.15. Kroger has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $68.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $48.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,027,979,000 after acquiring an additional 773,182 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Kroger by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after acquiring an additional 416,962 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,060,000 after acquiring an additional 120,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $598,390,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.