Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) Short Interest Up 15.9% in February

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 54,430,000 shares, an increase of 15.9% from the February 13th total of 46,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 9,000,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.0 days. Currently, 50.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Kohl’s

In other news, EVP Feeney Siobhan Mc sold 3,827 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.05, for a total transaction of $53,769.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 133,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,869,928.55. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kohl’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KSS. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Kohl’s by 149.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,572,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,671,000 after acquiring an additional 9,925,878 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Kohl’s during the 4th quarter worth about $19,874,000. Gate City Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kohl’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,773,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Kohl’s by 10.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,576,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,859,000 after buying an additional 740,398 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Kohl’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,778,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Kohl’s from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Kohl’s from $18.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Kohl’s from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Kohl’s from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Kohl’s from $15.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kohl’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.10.

Kohl’s Stock Performance

Shares of KSS opened at $8.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.50. 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 has a market capitalization of $951.21 million, a PE ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.92. Kohl’s has a 1 year low of $7.96 and a 1 year high of $29.60.

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

Kohl’s Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Kohl’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.02%.

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.