Decent News Is Bad News For Kohl’s

November 20, 2018 by Chris Lange

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) reported its most recent quarterly results before markets opened Tuesday. The company said that it had $0.98 in earnings per share (EPS) and $4.63 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.96 in EPS and $4.36 billion in revenue. The third quarter from last year had $0.70 in EPS and $4.33 billion in revenue.

During the quarter, comparable sales growth came in at 2.5%, versus an increase of 0.1% in the same period from last year.

On November 14, 2018, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.61 per share. The dividend is payable December 26, 2018, to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 12.

Looking ahead, the company is raising guidance and now expects its fiscal 2018 diluted earnings per share to be $5.35 to $5.55, compared to prior guidance of $5.15 to $5.55. Consensus estimates are calling for $5.51 in EPS and $19.24 billion in revenue for the fiscal full year.

Michelle Gass, Kohl’s CEO, commented:

We are very pleased that our strong performance continued into the third quarter, resulting in a comparable sales increase of 2.5%, our fifth consecutive quarter of positive growth. We experienced strength across our entire apparel business, and our focus on speed to market and inventory management are driving relevancy with our customers, resulting in sales growth, margin expansion, and clean inventory levels. We are executing extremely well in our stores and our digital channels, and our efforts across the company have us well-positioned going into the fourth quarter. I want to thank our teams for another strong quarter and for the energy and enthusiasm they are bringing to the holiday season ahead of us.

Shares of Kohl’s were last seen down about 12% at $62.02, with a consensus analyst price target of $82.61 and a 52-week range of $43.68 to $83.28.

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