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

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 36,344 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 44% compared to the typical volume of 25,256 call options.

Kohl’s Price Performance

Shares of Kohl’s stock opened at $20.80 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.90. Kohl’s has a fifty-two week low of $17.89 and a fifty-two week high of $29.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.93.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.13. Kohl’s had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 1.66%. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Kohl’s will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Kohl’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 11th. Kohl’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Feeney Siobhan Mc sold 16,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.27, for a total transaction of $315,392.09. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 136,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,116.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KSS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Kohl’s by 32.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Kohl’s by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its stake in Kohl’s by 50.0% in the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Kohl’s by 97.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kohl’s by 2.2% during the first quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 45,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 98.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Kohl’s from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen cut shares of Kohl’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Kohl’s from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Kohl’s in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Kohl’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kohl’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.29.

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.