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Kroger (KR) Rises Yet Lags Behind Market: Some Facts Worth Knowing

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Kroger (KR - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $55.09, indicating a +0.58% change from the previous session's end. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.91%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.85%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.51%.

The supermarket chain's shares have seen a decrease of 5.18% over the last month, not keeping up with the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 4.03% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.2%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Kroger in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.33, showcasing a 11.92% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $44.97 billion, down 0.43% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.43 per share and revenue of $147.97 billion, which would represent changes of -6.93% and -1.38%, respectively, from the prior year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Kroger. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Kroger currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

In the context of valuation, Kroger is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 12.36. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.33.

One should further note that KR currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.55. 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 had an average PEG ratio of 2.3 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 74, placing it within the top 30% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow KR in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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