Kohl’s Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:KSS)

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 42,614 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 26% compared to the average daily volume of 33,829 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KSS has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Kohl’s from $7.50 to $4.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price target on Kohl’s from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Kohl’s from $18.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Kohl’s from $10.00 to $5.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Kohl’s from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kohl’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.15.

Kohl’s Stock Performance

NYSE KSS opened at $6.76 on Wednesday. Kohl’s has a fifty-two week low of $6.04 and a fifty-two week high of $28.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $752.44 million, a P/E ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.65.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Kohl’s had a net margin of 1.47% and a return on equity of 6.44%. Kohl’s’s revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kohl’s will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Kohl’s Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. Kohl’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kohl’s

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Kohl’s by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,134,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,046,000 after buying an additional 433,264 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Kohl’s by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 3,646,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,190,000 after purchasing an additional 117,819 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Kohl’s by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,292,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,190,000 after purchasing an additional 36,622 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Kohl’s by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,255,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,667,000 after purchasing an additional 87,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Kohl’s by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,222,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,198,000 after buying an additional 126,600 shares during the period. 98.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kohl’s

Kohl’s Corporation operates as an omnichannel retailer in the United States. It offers branded apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty, and home products through its stores and website. The company provides its products primarily under the brand names of Croft & Barrow, Jumping Beans, SO, Sonoma Goods for Life, and Tek Gear, as well as Food Network, LC Lauren Conrad, Nine West, and Simply Vera Vera Wang.