Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) Short Interest Down 14.0% in March

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) was the target of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 29,910,000 shares, a drop of 14.0% from the March 15th total of 34,760,000 shares. Approximately 27.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 5,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Kohl’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Kohl’s by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,662,000 after purchasing an additional 13,314 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in Kohl’s during the 1st quarter valued at $1,183,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its stake in Kohl’s by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 92,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,816,000 after purchasing an additional 4,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Kohl’s by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 28,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. 98.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Kohl’s from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Kohl’s from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kohl’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Kohl’s from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Kohl’s from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kohl’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.20.

Kohl’s Price Performance

Shares of KSS stock traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.73. 6,277,189 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,269,149. Kohl’s has a 12 month low of $17.68 and a 12 month high of $29.65. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.98, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.80 billion. Kohl’s had a net margin of 1.81% and a return on equity of 8.40%. Kohl’s’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.49) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kohl’s will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Kohl’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. Kohl’s’s payout ratio is presently 70.18%.

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.