Keith RichardsKroger Co.KRCOMMENTJul 08, 2013

They report Thursday. They tend to rally on good numbers, which he expects again. They've been able to hold prices for consumers.

The stock is rolling over. You can buy a little now and wait till $60. It's having a hard time now.

EPS of 93c beat estimates of 91c; revenue of $33.91B marginally missed estimates. Kroger appears well-positioned to navigate an increasingly complex consumer-spending environment. Mainstream households led sales growth in fiscal 2Q amid loyal households and increased visits, a trend that could extend in 3Q, aiding same-store sales gains. Volume expansion appears to be slowly improving, buoyed by strategic promotions. Private-label product sales growth outpaced that of national brands, helping bolster gross margin, which the company believes will expand slightly for the full year, yet might be flat in 3Q. Kroger indicated adjusted EPS in 3Q could be slightly stronger than in 4Q. The company noted that e-commerce profitability is improving, boosted by more orders for its delivery network and store pickup. KR lowered its CEO pay by 18% recently, and it does vary on performance. He needs to get by on $15.7 million total compensation this year. Excessive, but at least it varies with performance, and we have seen much worse. 
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Is up 10% this year. They should forget taking over Albertsons since the FTC doesn't like the deal, and move on.

Their CFO (who was good) just quit and he wants to know why. Until then, hold off on this stock.

The FTC is holding up the Kroger-Albertsons deal that he supports, but this block is keeping KR stock in limbo.

It reports Thursday. They can raise prices and pass on inflationary costs.