Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS)

Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 49,501 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 309% compared to the average daily volume of 12,112 put options.

Institutional Trading of Kohl’s

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

Kohl’s Stock Down 2.6 %

Kohl’s stock traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $24.89. The company had a trading volume of 8,273,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,655,803. Kohl’s has a fifty-two week low of $17.68 and a fifty-two week high of $35.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.51 and its 200-day moving average is $23.09.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 23rd. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.29. Kohl’s had a negative net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 2.72%. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. Kohl’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Kohl’s will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kohl’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 6th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.04%. Kohl’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently -196.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Kohl’s from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Kohl’s in a report on Tuesday, November 14th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Kohl’s from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Monday, September 25th. OTR Global raised shares of Kohl’s from a “mixed” rating to a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Kohl’s in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. They set an “inline” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kohl’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.08.

About Kohl’s

Kohl's Corporation operates as a 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 Sonoma Goods for Life, as well as Food Network, LC Lauren Conrad, Nine West, and Simply Vera Vera Wang.