Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS)
Kohl’s Corporation (KSS), a departments store and e-commerce company yesterday announced their November and December Sales and updated their 2017 guidance numbers. Kohls announced that November and December sales decreased 2.1% compared to the same period the previous year. Kohls also announced that it now expects 2016 diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $2.92 and $2.97, which was down from the previous projected range of $3.12 and $3.32 per share.
The change in the guidance numbers can be attributed to the lower than expected sales for the current quarter. Gross margins are projected to be lower than planned due to timing of sales and the competitive promotional environment. Shares of Kohl’s fell $7.88 or 15% to $44 in after hours trading on the news.
Kohl’s Corporation CEO’s Comments
“Sales were volatile throughout the holiday season. Strong sales on Black Friday and during the week before Christmas were offset by softness in early November and December,” said Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s chairman, chief executive officer and president. Business Wire
KSS Technical Analysis
Kohl’s Corporation opened trading yesterday at $50.17 which was up from the previous day’s trading close of $49.78. Shares closed trading yesterday at $51.88 and crashed down after market to $44.00, equivalent to a 15% decrease from the closing price. Taking a look at the daily chart we can see that the last time KSS traded below these levels we have to go back to November 8th, 2016 when it traded at $43.97. Taking a closer look at the daily chart we can see that before the spike down KSS had already been in an overall downward trend dating back to December 8th when it traded at $59.43.
Kohl’s Corporation has a float of 175.23 million shares and traded 1.66 times the normal daily trading volume on Wednesday. For trading purposes, I would like to see KSS open trading on Thursday below $46.50 and if it does I would be looking to take a short position at the bell. My stop loss would be $0.50 from my entry position fearing anything more than that and the stock would start to fill in the gap down. Check out Ross over at Warrior Trading where he is applying his Day Trading Strategies to these types of stocks.
Company Profile
Kohl’s Corporation (Kohl’s), incorporated on March 23, 1993, is an operator of department stores. The Company also operates an e-commerce Website (www.Kohls.com). The Company operates over 1,160 department stores in approximately 50 states. The Company sells private label, exclusive and national brand apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty and home products. Its Website includes merchandise, which is available in its stores, as well as merchandise, which is available only on-line.
The Company’s private brands include Apt. 9, Croft & Barrow, Jumping Beans, SO and Sonoma Goods for Life. Its exclusive brands include Food Network, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Rock & Republic and Simply Vera Vera Wang. Reuters