Some of the best stocks to buy this year have been those involved with consumer staples, which can provide lots of stability . Within that sector are companies that sell necessary, day-to-day goods like groceries. And one top grocery retailer that has been doing well of late is Kroger (NYSE:KR). Year to date, the stock is up over 13% and has been a much better buy than the S&P 500 – it's down around 15%.
Kroger's business still looks to be in solid shape as last week the company reported its second-quarter earnings, which beat expectations. Its adjusted earnings per share topped $0.90 – well ahead of the $0.77 that Wall Street analysts were expecting. Its comparable sales excluding fuel were up 5.8% year over year. Kroger also raised its outlook for the year, projecting that adjusted EPS for fiscal 2022 will be between $3.95 and $4.05, up from a previous range of $3.85 and $3.95.
The company is doing so well that its Board of Directors also approved $1 billion in share buybacks.
Kroger makes for a solid, safe investment to buy and hold for years. Regardless of what happens with the economy and if inflation persists, there will be a need to buy groceries. And with the stock trading at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of just 12, it's not an expensive stock to buy. Plus, it also pays a dividend yield of around 2.1%. That means that on a $25,000 investment, you could be collecting approximately around $525 in annual dividends, to go along with the stock's stable long-run returns.
