Kroger (KR) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

Kroger (KR) closed the most recent trading day at $46.78, moving +0.09% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.67%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.23%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.05%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the supermarket chain had lost 2.91% over the past month. This has lagged the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 9.5% and the S&P 500's gain of 7.79% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Kroger as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.81, up 1.25% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $33.99 billion, up 7.27% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.91 per share and revenue of $147.07 billion. These totals would mark changes of +6.25% and +6.66%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Kroger. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Kroger currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

In terms of valuation, Kroger is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 11.96. This valuation marks a no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.96.

It is also worth noting that KR currently has a PEG ratio of 1.06. 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 industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.85 as of yesterday's close.

The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 208, which puts it in the bottom 18% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

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