Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Kohl’s Put Options (NYSE:KSS)

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 41,595 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 20% compared to the typical daily volume of 34,557 put options.

Insider Transactions at Kohl’s

In related news, EVP Feeney Siobhan Mc sold 3,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.05, for a total value of $53,769.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 133,091 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,928.55. The trade was a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Kohl’s by 183.8% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 917 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Kohl’s by 117.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kohl’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Kohl’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Kohl’s by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 1,974 shares during the period. 98.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on KSS shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Kohl’s from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Kohl’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Kohl’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Kohl’s from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Kohl’s from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kohl’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.22.

Kohl’s Stock Up 1.2 %

Kohl’s stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.36. 6,521,845 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,178,825. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 1.87. Kohl’s has a 52-week low of $12.62 and a 52-week high of $29.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $14.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.10.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. Kohl’s had a return on equity of 6.44% and a net margin of 1.47%. Kohl’s’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Kohl’s will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kohl’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.98%. Kohl’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.09%.

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.