Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Kohl’s Call Options (NYSE:KSS)

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 41,902 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 29% compared to the typical daily volume of 32,372 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KSS has been the subject of several research reports. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Kohl’s from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced 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. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Kohl’s from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Kohl’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Kohl’s from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kohl’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.22.

Kohl’s Stock Down 3.2 %

KSS stock opened at $14.74 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization 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. Kohl’s has a 52-week low of $14.22 and a 52-week high of $29.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.73.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. Kohl’s had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 7.43%. Kohl’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kohl’s will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Kohl’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Kohl’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kohl’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Kohl’s by 183.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 917 shares during the period. Security National Bank acquired a new stake in Kohl’s during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kohl’s by 117.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in Kohl’s by 97.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kohl’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. 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.