Retail

What Boosted Kohl's Shares After Earnings

Chris Lange

Published: February 23, 2017 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 2:34 pm

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) reported its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. The company posted $1.44 in earnings per share (EPS) and $6.21 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $1.33 in EPS and revenue of $6.22 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $1.58 and $6.39 billion in revenue.

For the fiscal 2017 year, the company expects to see total sales change from a loss of 1.3% to a gain of 0.07%, with comparable sales ranging from a loss of 2% to remaining flat. The consensus estimates are $3.72 in EPS and $18.69 billion in revenue.

In terms of the number of it stores, Kohl’s ended the year with 1,154 in 49 states. The update said:

• Opened 9 small format Kohl’s stores.
• Closed 19 Kohl’s stores.
• Opened two Off/Aisle locations.
• Opened 12 FILA outlets.

The board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on common stock of $0.55 per share, a 10% increase over the prior dividend. The dividend is payable March 22, 2017, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 8.

On the books, Kohl’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $1.07 billion at the end of the quarter, up from $707 million in the same period of last year.

Kevin Mansell, board chair, chief executive and president of Kohl’s, commented:

Sales results were weak for the quarter in total, driven by declines in brick and mortar traffic, and offset somewhat by strength in online demand. We saw improvement in merchandise margin, and our team continued to manage inventory and expenses extremely well. In 2017, we will accelerate our focus on becoming the destination for active and wellness with the launch of Under Armour in early March. We will also extend our efforts on improving our speed to market across all of our proprietary brands into all apparel areas and home.

Shares of Kohl’s closed Wednesday at $41.78, with a consensus analyst price target of $45.73 and a 52-week trading range of $33.87 to $59.67. Following the release of the report, the stock was up close to 3% at $43.00 in early trading indications Thursday.