Goldman Meets With Kohl's CEO And Remains Bullish

Goldman Sachs has published a research report on Kohl's Corporation

after meeting with the company's CEO Kevin Mansell. In the report, Goldman Sachs writes "Our meeting with Kohl's Chairman & CEO Kevin Mansell reinforced our bullish view on KSS shares. The company's track record and plans for 2010 show that best-in-class operators can deliver solid results despite inflationary headwinds. With KSS shares priced at only 12X our 2011 EPS estimate (the low end of the historical range), positives include (1) market share gains, driven by brand launches and continued online growth (planned at +40%), (2) margin expansion, enabled by supply chain efficiencies and private brands, (3) new store growth (+40 stores, or +3.5% square footage growth) in a sector with minimal growth, (4) continued remodels (100 remodels vs. 85 last year), (5) share repurchase ($1 bn ASR complete, with an estimated $1.2 bn more to come in 2011), (6) a dividend announcement, with initial yield at 1.9%, and (7) FCF of $1 bn in 2011." Goldman Sachs maintains its Buy rating and $63 price target. Kohl's Corporation closed yesterday at $53.28.