Retail

Did Kohl's Q3 Results Offer Any Good News?

Chris Lange

Published: November 9, 2017 10:00 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 6:29 am

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) reported its fiscal third-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. The retailer said that it had $0.70 in earnings per share (EPS) and $4.3 billion in revenue, which compares to a consensus forecast from Thomson Reuters of $0.72 in EPS on revenue of $4.3 billion. In the same period of last year, the retailer said it had EPS of $0.80 and $4.33 billion in revenue.

Looking ahead to the fiscal 2017 full year, the company now expects to see EPS in the range of $3.60 to $3.80, which compares to its previous guidance of $3.50 to $3.80. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for $3.76 in EPS and $18.58 billion in revenue for the full year.

Kohl’s ended the quarter with 1,156 Kohl’s stores in 49 states, about the same as at the third quarter of last year.

On the books, Kohl’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $736 million at the end of the quarter, up from $597 million in the same period of last year.

The board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on the common stock of $0.55 per share. The dividend is payable December 20, to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 6.

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

We are pleased to report an increase in comp sales for the quarter as the traffic momentum we saw in the first half of the year continued. We saw strong results during the back-to-school season, achieving a low single-digit positive comp. The middle of the quarter was soft as we experienced disruptions from the hurricanes and other unseasonal weather. The quarter closed with strong sales in the second half of October.

Shares of Kohl’s were last seen down more than 5% at $38.63, with a consensus analyst price target of $42.83 and a 52-week range of $35.16 to $59.67.