UPDATE: Nomura Equity Research Reiterates Neutral Rating, Lowers PT on Kohl's Corporation

In a report published Friday, Nomura Equity Research reiterated its Neutral rating on Kohl's Corporation

, but lowered its price target from $46.00 to $41.00. Nomura Equity Research noted, “After struggling to drive top line for 18 months, we viewed the KSS inventory build as a proverbial ‘Hail Mary' to drive sales (as mgmt hoped to drive conversion). While our view has been that this was unlikely to work, we now see definitively that it did not. Over the past few months, the gap between inventory and comp growth grew until they were forced into aggressive promos to clear inventory. The +3.4% Dec comp came with an expensive margin price tag and a big reduction in 4Q guidance.” Kohl's Corporation closed on Thursday at $42.35.