Kohl’s Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:KSS)

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 33,502 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 86% compared to the average daily volume of 18,056 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on KSS. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Kohl’s from $32.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Kohl’s from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Kohl’s from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Kohl’s from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kohl’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.44.

Kohl’s Stock Performance

NYSE:KSS opened at $21.72 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Kohl’s has a 12-month low of $17.68 and a 12-month high of $29.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.90.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.28). Kohl’s had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 1.60%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Kohl’s will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kohl’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 12th. Kohl’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kohl’s

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kohl’s by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kohl’s by 133.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kohl’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Kohl’s by 392.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kohl’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.04% of the company’s stock.

Kohl’s Company Profile

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.