Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Shares of Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 4,108,054 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 6,329,357 shares.The stock last traded at $15.45 and had previously closed at $15.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KSS. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Kohl’s from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Kohl’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Kohl’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Kohl’s from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Kohl’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.22.

Kohl’s Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $18.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 6.64, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.94.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. Kohl’s had a return on equity of 6.44% and a net margin of 1.47%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kohl’s Co. will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kohl’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.56%. Kohl’s’s payout ratio is 90.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kohl’s news, EVP Feeney Siobhan Mc sold 16,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.27, for a total transaction of $315,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 136,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,116.73. This trade represents a 10.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kohl’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Kohl’s by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 45,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 9,196 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Kohl’s in the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kohl’s by 5.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,826,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,541,000 after buying an additional 91,608 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Kohl’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,694,000. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kohl’s by 19.0% during the third quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 62,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. 98.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.