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Kroger (KR) Stock Moves -0.36%: What You Should Know

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Kroger (KR - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $53.20, moving -0.36% from the previous trading session. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 0.4% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.08%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.18%.

Heading into today, shares of the supermarket chain had lost 8.45% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 15.28% and the S&P 500's loss of 9.39% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Kroger as it approaches its next earnings report date. On that day, Kroger is projected to report earnings of $1.27 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 6.72%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $43.22 billion, up 4.65% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.83 per share and revenue of $142.23 billion. These totals would mark changes of +4.08% and +3.15%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice 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.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 2.09% higher within the past month. Kroger is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.

Investors should also note Kroger's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 13.94. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 11.68, which means Kroger is trading at a premium to the group.

Also, we should mention that KR has a PEG ratio of 1.41. 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 1.04 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 230, which puts it in the bottom 9% 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.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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