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

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 41,902 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 29% compared to the typical volume of 32,372 call options.

Kohl’s Stock Performance

Shares of KSS stock opened at $14.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $18.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.68. Kohl’s has a one year low of $14.22 and a one year high of $29.60.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.08). Kohl’s had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 1.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kohl’s will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Kohl’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Kohl’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.43%.

Insider Activity at Kohl’s

In other Kohl’s 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 value of $315,392.09. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 136,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,116.73. This trade represents a 10.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kohl’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KSS. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Kohl’s by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Kohl’s by 2.0% in the second 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. Insight Folios Inc boosted its holdings in Kohl’s by 3.4% in the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 21,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its stake in Kohl’s by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Kohl’s by 183.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Kohl’s from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Kohl’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Kohl’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Kohl’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $25.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Gordon Haskett cut shares of Kohl’s from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $11.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kohl’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.22.

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.