Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.42, but opened at $19.75. Kohl's shares last traded at $13.50, with a volume of 94,299,971 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KSS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Kohl's from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Kohl's in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Kohl's from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kohl's from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Kohl's in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.75.

Kohl's Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Kohl's (NYSE:KSS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.09. Kohl's had a return on equity of 4.71% and a net margin of 0.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Kohl's Corporation will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kohl's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 11th were given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. Kohl's's payout ratio is 45.87%.

Institutional Trading of Kohl's

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Kohl's during the 1st quarter valued at $11,650,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Kohl's in the 4th quarter worth about $19,874,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in Kohl's in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,818,000. Gate City Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kohl's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,773,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kohl's by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,774,244 shares of the company's stock worth $14,513,000 after buying an additional 831,055 shares in the last quarter. 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.