Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) Shares Up 24.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) shot up 24.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $7.69 and last traded at $7.67. 15,111,892 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 41% from the average session volume of 10,714,394 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KSS shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Kohl’s from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Kohl’s from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Kohl’s from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Kohl’s from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Kohl’s in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kohl’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.87.

Kohl’s Stock Up 25.9 %

The company has a market cap of $866.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $10.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.34.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Kohl’s Co. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Kohl’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. Kohl’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kohl’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KSS. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kohl’s by 146.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 15,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 9,317 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Kohl’s by 3,664.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 52,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 51,407 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Kohl’s by 3,022.6% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 5,894 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Kohl’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,978,000. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Kohl’s in the fourth quarter worth $168,000. 98.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kohl’s

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.