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

Kohl's Co. (NYSE:KSS - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 54,428 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 67% compared to the average daily volume of 32,602 call options.

Kohl's Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE KSS traded up $0.19 on Wednesday, hitting $8.10. 7,070,776 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,811,224. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.43 and a 200 day moving average of $11.35. Kohl's has a twelve month low of $6.04 and a twelve month high of $27.59. The company has a market capitalization of $901.17 million, a P/E ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

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

Kohl's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. Kohl's's payout ratio is currently 51.02%.

Institutional Trading of Kohl's

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Kohl's by 9.3% during the 4th 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 raised its position in shares of Kohl's by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 59,124 shares of the company's stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Kohl's by 49.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,177 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Finally, Platinum Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the period. 98.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Kohl's from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Kohl's from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Kohl's from $15.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Kohl's from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Kohl's from $10.00 to $5.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.61.

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.

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