Traders Buy High Volume of Kenvue Call Options (NYSE:KVUE)

Key Points

• On Monday, Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) experienced a 52% increase in call options trading, with 117,463 options acquired compared to an average of 77,035.
• The company's stock price declined by 2.9% to $16.17, placing it near its 12-month low of $15.47, while also reporting a 4% year-over-year decline in quarterly revenue.
• Kenvue recently raised its dividend payment to $0.2075 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 5.1%, with a high dividend payout ratio of 112.16%.

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 117,463 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 52% compared to the average volume of 77,035 call options.

Kenvue Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE KVUE traded down $0.49 on Monday, hitting $16.17. The company had a trading volume of 13,719,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,411,590. Kenvue has a 12-month low of $15.47 and a 12-month high of $25.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.72.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.94 billion. Kenvue had a return on equity of 20.06% and a net margin of 9.37%.Kenvue's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Kenvue has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.050 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kenvue will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kenvue Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a $0.2075 dividend. This is an increase from Kenvue's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Kenvue's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KVUE. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Kenvue by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 24,778 shares of the company's stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 6,169 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Kenvue during the 1st quarter worth approximately $185,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Kenvue by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 620,052 shares of the company's stock worth $14,869,000 after purchasing an additional 16,404 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Kenvue by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,564 shares of the company's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Finally, Pinion Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kenvue by 125.0% during the 1st quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 71,302 shares of the company's stock worth $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 39,615 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on KVUE. Bank of America decreased their price target on Kenvue from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Kenvue from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Kenvue from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on Kenvue from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Kenvue from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $22.50 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kenvue presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.18.

Kenvue Company Profile

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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