Kroger shares gain the most in 27 weeks on Friday, supermarket chain revises up annual sales and profit forecasts

Kroger Co (KR) on Friday revised up its annual sales and earnings forecasts on robust demand for groceries and household essentials.

Kroger posted a 56.5% surge to $731 million in its net income attributable to shareholders during the second quarter.

Excluding special items, the company earned $0.90 per share, while exceeding Wall Street estimates of $0.83 per share.

The US grocer now expects full-year earnings per share within the range of $3.95 to $4.05, up from a previously forecast range of $3.85 to $3.95 per share.

“We saw incredible engagement in our (private-label) brands during the quarter with identical sales growth of 10.2% compared to last year,” Kroger’s Chief Executive Officer Rodney McMullen was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Kroger’s same-store sales, excluding fuel, went up 5.8% year-on-year during the second quarter, which also outstripped market consensus of a 4.6% growth.

For fiscal 2022, Kroger now expects adjusted same-store sales growth between 4% and 4.5%, which compares with a previous forecast of a 2.5% to 3.5% growth.

The shares of Kroger Company closed higher for the fifth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Friday. It has also been the sharpest single-session gain since March 3rd. The stock went up 7.40% ($3.58) to $51.94, after touching an intraday high at $52.00. The latter has been a price level not seen since June 8th ($52.27).

The shares of Kroger Company have risen 14.76% so far in 2022 compared with a 14.66% loss for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2021, Kroger Co’s stock went up 42.51%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 26.89% gain.