Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) Short Interest Up 8.3% in June

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 38,860,000 shares, an increase of 8.3% from the June 15th total of 35,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,960,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.5 days. Approximately 35.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kohl’s by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,591,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775,024 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kohl’s during the fourth quarter worth $34,583,000. Vision One Management Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Kohl’s in the 4th quarter valued at $28,413,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kohl’s by 518.9% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 855,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,658,000 after buying an additional 716,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Kohl’s by 254.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 794,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,822,000 after buying an additional 570,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.04% of the company’s stock.

Kohl’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KSS traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,338,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,639,711. Kohl’s has a fifty-two week low of $17.68 and a fifty-two week high of $29.65. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.23.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.28). Kohl’s had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 1.60%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kohl’s will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kohl’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.81%. Kohl’s’s payout ratio is presently 80.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KSS shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kohl’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Kohl’s from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kohl’s from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Kohl’s in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Kohl’s from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kohl’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.44.

Kohl’s Company Profile

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.