When Warren Buffett spends, he spends big.
The boss of Berkshire Hathaway picked up nearly 19 million shares of Kroger ($KR), sending the stock up nearly 6% in premarket trading on Tuesday, February 18. After 12 months of shares being down, and then bouncing back to roughly even, it should be taken as good news for Kroger investors.
Kroger job postings are up a whopping 26% year-over-year. The company is in the midst of a transition, however, and has been reducing some roles while looking to add other new positions.
But as Kroger looked to get more efficient on some of its job postings, it was also adding roles as it sought to build out a pharmacy business. The company is hiring fewer managers, which was apparent in job postings data before news broke that Kroger would look to reduce the management ranks.
In the Apple Store, Kroger is getting mega-engagement - something that could help it take on competitors that are out to digitally disrupt the grocery space. Ratings submitted - so, how often people actually provide a rating to the Apple store when prompted - rose a whopping 95% since 2019 began.
Better still, Kroger's Apple Store rating (not shown) is just shy of 4.5-out-of-5, signaling that consumers are happy with it, too.
When the company announces earnings results in March, analysts tracked by Zacks Investment Research are looking for EPS $0.56.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
Further Reading:
- Coronavirus concerns crimp Wyndham's otherwise sound quarter
- Are people still buying Russell Stover chocolates for Valentine's Day?
- TripAdvisor data signals challenges as it heads into earnings
