Kohl's Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:KSS)

Kohl's Co. (NYSE:KSS - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 42,614 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 26% compared to the typical volume of 33,829 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kohl's

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Kohl's by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 11,421 shares of the company's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kohl's by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 59,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Kohl's by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 17,526 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Kohl's by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 6,108 shares of the company's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in Kohl's by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 59,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.04% of the company's stock.

Kohl's Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:KSS traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.07. 7,517,000 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,440,489. The stock has a market cap of $787.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.65. Kohl's has a fifty-two week low of $6.04 and a fifty-two week high of $28.25. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $8.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

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

Kohl's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.07%. Kohl's's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on KSS. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Kohl's from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Kohl's from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Kohl's from $10.00 to $5.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Kohl's from $15.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Kohl's from $7.50 to $4.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.15.

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.