Morgan Stanley Lowers Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) to Underweight

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) was downgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley to an “underweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. They presently have a $17.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $18.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 13.27% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Kohl’s from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Kohl’s from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered Kohl’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Kohl’s in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.67.

Kohl’s Stock Performance

Kohl’s stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.60. 9,643,861 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,659,267. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.94. Kohl’s has a fifty-two week low of $17.68 and a fifty-two week high of $29.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Kohl’s had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 1.60%. The company’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Kohl’s will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kohl’s

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Kohl’s by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Kohl’s by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 49,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kohl’s by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Kohl’s by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kohl’s by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. 98.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.