J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) Posts Earnings Results

J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The grocer reported GBX 9.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of SBRY stock traded down GBX 9.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting GBX 350.70. 20,589,482 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,577,133. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 107.33. J Sainsbury has a 12 month low of GBX 293.70 and a 12 month high of GBX 380.30. The stock has a market cap of £7.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 337.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 332.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SBRY shares. Shore Capital Group restated a “house stock” rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a GBX 310 price target on shares of J Sainsbury in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 390 price target on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a GBX 375 target price on shares of J Sainsbury in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 395 price target on shares of J Sainsbury in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 360.17.

About J Sainsbury

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.