Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) Shares Down 19.8% – Here’s What Happened

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) shares dropped 19.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $7.03 and last traded at $6.90. Approximately 4,991,971 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 7,851,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KSS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Kohl’s from $13.00 to $11.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Kohl’s in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their target price on Kohl’s from $10.00 to $5.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Kohl’s from $18.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Kohl’s from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.87.

Kohl’s Trading Up 7.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $795.41 million, a P/E ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.75 and a 200 day moving average of $14.63.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.23. Kohl’s had a net margin of 1.47% and a return on equity of 6.44%. The firm had revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kohl’s Co. will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Kohl’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. Kohl’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kohl’s

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Kohl’s by 3,022.6% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 5,894 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Kohl’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,978,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Kohl’s during the fourth quarter worth about $168,000. CSS LLC IL bought a new stake in shares of Kohl’s in the fourth quarter worth about $163,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Kohl’s by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 428,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,022,000 after purchasing an additional 50,671 shares during the period. 98.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.