Kohl’s Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:KSS)

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 21,145 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 80% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,734 call options.

Institutional Trading of Kohl’s

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KSS. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Kohl’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kohl’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kohl’s during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Kohl’s by 81.1% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Kohl’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 98.04% of the company’s stock.

Kohl’s Trading Up 7.4 %

Kohl’s stock opened at $25.58 on Friday. Kohl’s has a 52 week low of $17.68 and a 52 week high of $35.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.07, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.05.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 23rd. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.29. Kohl’s had a negative net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 2.72%. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Kohl’s will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kohl’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.82%. Kohl’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -196.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KSS has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Kohl’s in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Kohl’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. They issued an “inline” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Kohl’s from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Kohl’s from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Monday, September 25th. Finally, OTR Global raised Kohl’s from a “mixed” rating to a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kohl’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.08.

About Kohl’s

Kohl's Corporation operates as a 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 Sonoma Goods for Life, as well as Food Network, LC Lauren Conrad, Nine West, and Simply Vera Vera Wang.