Kohl's Stock Gains On Q3 Earnings Beat, Raised FY21 Outlook - Kohl's (NYSE:KSS)

Kohl's Corp KSS reported third-quarter FY21 sales growth of 15.6% year-on-year, to $4.60 billion, beating the analyst consensus of $4.27 billion. Comparable sales for the quarter increased 14.7%.
Gross margin for the quarter expanded by 408 basis points to 39.9%. The operating margin was 8.4%, and operating income for the quarter was $387 million versus $22 million last year.
Adjusted EPS of $1.65 beat the analyst consensus of $0.64.
Kohl's held $1.9 billion in cash and equivalents as of October 30, 2021. Net cash provided by operating activities for the nine months totaled $1.8 billion.
Kohl's quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share is payable December 22, 2021, to shareholders of record on December 8, 2021.
The company repurchased $506 million of shares in the quarter and now plans to repurchase $1.3 billion of shares in 2021.
Outlook: Kohl's expects FY21 net sales to grow in mid-twenties percentage (prior view low twenties percentage).
The company raised FY21 adjusted EPS guidance to $7.10 - $7.30, excluding any non-recurring charges (prior $5.80 - $6.10) versus the consensus of $6.08.
Price Action: KSS shares are trading higher by 5.90% at $59.81 on the last check Thursday.