CNN BUSINESS | Kroger’s stock is at a record high. It looks overripe

New York (CNN Business)Amazon, Walmart and Target have stepped up their games in the grocery business. So it may come as a surprise that shares of traditional supermarket chain Kroger are up nearly 50% this year and trading at an all-time high.

Kroger (KR), like other food retailers, has been a major beneficiary of the work-from-home Covid-19 economy of the past year and a half. The supermarket giant, in addition to its namesake chain, also owns Dillons, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, Ralphs and numerous other regional grocers.

But Kroger faces many challenges in addition to big competitors like Amazon (AMZN), Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT), including Albertsons, which owns Safeway, as well as European discount giants Aldi and Ahold Delhaize (ADRNY), the parent company of Stop & Shop.  —read more—