Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $6.71, but opened at $7.46. Kohl’s shares last traded at $7.65, with a volume of 3,256,247 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Kohl’s from $10.00 to $5.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on Kohl’s from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Kohl’s from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Kohl’s from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Kohl’s from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.54.

Kohl’s Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $834.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.17.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Kohl’s had a return on equity of 6.44% and a net margin of 1.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kohl’s Co. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kohl’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. Kohl’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Kohl’s in the 4th quarter worth about $19,874,000. Gate City Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kohl’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,773,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Kohl’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,778,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kohl’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,185,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Kohl’s by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 943,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,246,000 after buying an additional 573,579 shares during the period. 98.04% of the stock is 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.