Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) Shares Down 6.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) shares dropped 6.3% on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $5.00. UBS Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. Kohl’s traded as low as $8.55 and last traded at $8.58. Approximately 3,721,139 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 8,556,530 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.15.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on KSS. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Kohl’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Kohl’s in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Kohl’s from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Kohl’s from $13.00 to $11.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Kohl’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.56.

Insider Activity at Kohl’s

In other Kohl’s news, EVP Feeney Siobhan Mc sold 3,827 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 133,091 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,928.55. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kohl’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kohl’s by 183.8% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 917 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kohl’s during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kohl’s by 117.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Kohl’s during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kohl’s during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 98.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kohl’s Trading Down 6.5 %

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 company’s fifty day moving average is $12.47 and its 200-day moving average is $15.95. The stock has a market cap of $952.33 million, a PE ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.92.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.23. Kohl’s had a net margin of 1.47% and a return on equity of 6.44%. The company had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Kohl’s Co. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kohl’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.84%. Kohl’s’s payout ratio is 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.