Key Takeaways

The Kroger Co. ( KR ) is set to report third-quarter results ahead of market open Thursday, with the grocery giant awaiting a decision on the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) legal challenge to its proposed merger with Albertsons Companies ( ACI ).

Analysts have a cautious view of Kroger's stock, with the 10 analysts tracked by Visible Alpha split between four "buy" ratings and six "hold" ratings. However, the average target price of $58.80 suggest analysts see room for Kroger's stock to continue coming down from last Friday's closing level of $61.08, its highest close in more than two years.

Kroger shares were down 1.6% Monday afternoon to $60.11, but are still up over 30% since the start of the year.

The supermarket chain is expected to report revenue of $34.23 billion, up 0.8% year-over-year, and profit 2.6% higher at $662.6 million, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

Kroger, Albertsons Await Legal Decision

Kroger is awaiting a decision in the trial over the FTC's lawsuit seeking to block the grocer's proposed merger with Albertsons. In recent announcements, Kroger has continued to say it expects the merger to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

Closing arguments were laid out in September, as the commission argued its case that the merger would harm competition for both consumers and workers. The agency has said that Kroger and Albertsons would no longer lower prices or raise wages to compete with each other if they merged.

The companies, however, have said that merging would allow them to compete with larger retail rivals like Walmart ( WMT ) and Costco Wholesale ( COST ), along with Amazon's ( AMZN ) growing grocery operations. The FTC has said those comparisons are incorrect, as Kroger and Albertsons should be compared to other regional grocery stores rather than membership or online retailers.

In last quarter's earnings report , Kroger Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rodney McMullen said the company is "confident in the facts and the strength of our position." Kroger also said it was seeing positive consumer spending trends, and expected them to continue in the second half of its 2024 fiscal year.