Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) Trading Up 8.6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) shares surged 8.6% to last trade at $15.32, despite a 24% decline in trading volume compared to the average.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Kenvue, with price targets being cut; Canaccord Genuity reduced their target from $29.00 to $26.00, while Zacks Research upgraded it to a "strong sell."
• Kenvue increased its quarterly dividend to $0.2075 per share, marking a 5.5% yield, but reports a high payout ratio of 112.16%.

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE - Get Free Report) shares were up 8.6% on Friday . The company traded as high as $15.35 and last traded at $15.32. Approximately 15,716,773 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 20,706,363 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KVUE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Kenvue from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kenvue to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kenvue in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.18.

Kenvue Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.72. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $18.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.94 billion. Kenvue had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The firm's revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Kenvue has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.050 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kenvue Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Kenvue Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from Kenvue's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Kenvue's payout ratio is currently 112.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new position in Kenvue in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of Kenvue by 266.8% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,581 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kenvue in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kenvue in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Kenvue by 378.5% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,627 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.64% of the company's stock.

About Kenvue

Kenvue Inc operates as a consumer health company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Self Care, Skin Health and Beauty, and Essential Health. The Self Care segment offers cough, cold and allergy, pain care, digestive health, smoking cessation, eye care, and other products under the Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Nicorette, Zarbee's, ORSLTM, Rhinocort, Calpol, and Zyrtec brands.

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