After many strong years, Barclays analyst Karen Short believes
Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) “tailwinds have all run
their course.” Short has an Equal-Weight rating on the grocery retailer.
In the past, Kroger had been capitalizing “the population in excess of square foot growth, the rollout of fuel centers,
expansion of natural and organic, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) struggles."
Short noted Thursday’s guidance offered a glimpse of this reality and does not know if there are any clear solutions to Kroger’s
problems. While inflation has been noted as a possible plus for Kroger by management, it could actually be very problematic if
Walmart chooses not to raise prices.
Barclays ending up lowering its fiscal year 2017 to $1.90 (consensus at $2.19) versus guidance of $2.00–$2.05. The report also
stated that Kroger will now be focused on investing more in price, adding more labor to stores and increasing wages.
Kroger fell again over 12 percent on Friday after news of Amazon.com,
Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) acquiring Whole Foods
Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) for $13.7 billion.
At time of publication, shares of Kroger were down 13.44 percent at $21.26.
Related Links:
Amazon Will Buy Whole
Foods For $13.7 Billion
Kroger
CFO's Comments Not Enough To Stop The Bleeding
Latest Ratings for KR
Date |
Firm |
Action |
From |
To |
Jun 2017 |
JP Morgan |
Downgrades |
Overweight |
Neutral |
Jun 2017 |
Telsey Advisory Group |
Downgrades |
Outperform |
Market Perform |
May 2017 |
Loop Capital |
Initiates Coverage On |
|
Hold |
View More Analyst Ratings for
KR
View the Latest Analyst Ratings
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