Kestrel Investment Management Corp Reduces Stock Position in Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS)

Kestrel Investment Management Corp cut its stake in Kohl’s Co. (NYSE:KSS) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 122,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,800 shares during the quarter. Kohl’s makes up approximately 2.4% of Kestrel Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Kestrel Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Kohl’s were worth $3,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Kohl’s by 25.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,348,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,217,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695,094 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Kohl’s by 5.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,463,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,771,000 after acquiring an additional 450,362 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Kohl’s by 16.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,731,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,100,000 after acquiring an additional 790,403 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Kohl’s by 0.3% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,397,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,178,000 after acquiring an additional 12,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Starboard Value LP acquired a new position in Kohl’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $201,401,000. 98.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Kohl’s Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:KSS traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,011,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,402,769. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.40 and a 200-day moving average of $25.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Kohl’s Co. has a 52-week low of $17.68 and a 52-week high of $29.65.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.80 billion. Kohl’s had a return on equity of 8.40% and a net margin of 1.81%. Kohl’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($2.49) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kohl’s Co. will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Kohl’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. Kohl’s’s payout ratio is 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.