Kenvue Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:KVUE)

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 105,856 put options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately217% compared to the typical volume of 33,402 put options.

Kenvue Trading Up 0.4%

Kenvue stock opened at $21.15 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $21.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.41. 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 stock has a market cap of $40.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.83. Kenvue has a 12 month low of $19.75 and a 12 month high of $25.17.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.94 billion. Kenvue had a return on equity of 20.06% and a net margin of 9.37%. The business’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kenvue will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Kenvue Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This is a boost from Kenvue’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Kenvue’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KVUE. Zacks Research raised Kenvue to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Barclays decreased their target price on Kenvue from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Kenvue from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Kenvue from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Kenvue from $24.50 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kenvue presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.38.

Institutional Trading of Kenvue

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Kenvue by 11.6% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 3,754,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,659,000 after buying an additional 389,933 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in Kenvue during the second quarter worth $8,972,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kenvue by 1.1% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 413,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,647,000 after buying an additional 4,606 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its holdings in shares of Kenvue by 1.9% during the second quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 781,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,351,000 after buying an additional 14,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hayek Kallen Investment Management increased its holdings in Kenvue by 8.6% in the second quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 32,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610 shares during the period. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.