J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) Announces Earnings Results

J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The grocer reported GBX 9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. J Sainsbury had a net margin of 1.14% and a return on equity of 6.12%.

Here are the key takeaways from J Sainsbury’s conference call:

• Underlying operating profit from continuing operations rose 3.6% to £525 million, while underlying EPS increased 10.4%. Management raised the lower end of full-year guidance to £1.025 billion, with a range of £1.025 billion–£1.065 billion.
• Grocery sales grew 2.9% with continued volume growth and market-share gains, supported by strong value, quality, availability and service. Online grocery sales increased 9%, OnDemand grew 27%, and fresh-food sales rose more than 4%.
• Sainsbury’s expects to generate more than £500 million of free cash flow this year and remains on track for at least £1.6 billion over the three-year strategy. It plans to return more than £600 million to shareholders in the current year through dividends and the remaining £100 million of its £300 million buyback.
• The company is progressing with its plan to sell Argos to Swift Partners, expected to complete in February 2027, allowing Sainsbury’s to focus more fully on food. Argos is expected to deliver full-year operating profit in line with or ahead of last year, although separation costs and impairments weighed on reported results.
• Management remains on track to deliver £1 billion of cost savings over the strategy period, including technology-led productivity improvements, while Nectar participation and retail-media activity continue to expand. However, the company cautioned that the grocery market remains highly competitive, with subdued industry volumes and tough upcoming comparisons.

J Sainsbury Price Performance

Shares of J Sainsbury stock traded down GBX 9.60 on Thursday, hitting GBX 350.40. 20,334,473 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,575,889. J Sainsbury has a 12-month low of GBX 293.70 and a 12-month high of GBX 380.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 337.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 332.13. The company has a market cap of £7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 107.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBRY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a GBX 310 price target on shares of J Sainsbury in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of J Sainsbury from GBX 330 to GBX 346 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a GBX 375 target price on shares of J Sainsbury in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 390 target price on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 395 price target on shares of J Sainsbury in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 360.17.

Insider Activity at J Sainsbury

In related news, insider Simon Roberts sold 346,154 shares of J Sainsbury stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 333, for a total transaction of £1,152,692.82. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

J Sainsbury Company Profile

J Sainsbury plc is one of the UK’s leading food, general merchandise and clothing retailers.

Offering delicious, great quality food at competitive prices has been at the heart of what we do since we opened our first store in 1869. Today, inspiring and delighting our customers with tasty food remains our priority. Our purpose is that driven by our passion for food, together we serve and help every customer.

Our focus on great value food and convenient shopping, whether in-store or online is supported by our brands – Argos, Habitat, Tu, Nectar and Sainsbury’s Bank.