Why Kohl's Stock Was a Winner on Wednesday

Key Points

• The meme stock moved mostly because of a non-meme stock reason.

• One analyst tracking the retailer became slightly more bullish on its prospects.

• 10 stocks we like better than Kohl's ›

For once, on Wednesday, meme stock Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) didn't move because of fevered online chatter or hype. The company was the subject of an analyst's price target increase, and investors pushed into the retailer's shares as a consequence. Kohl's finished the day almost 4% higher, providing a contrast to the slumping S&P 500 index; this fell marginally, by 0.1%.

Rise and shine!

Baird's Mark Altschwager made the move Wednesday morning, changing his fair value assessment to $17 per share from his previous $15. That doesn't quite make him a Kohl's bull, however, as he left his neutral recommendation on the stock unchanged.

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Image source: Getty Images.

It wasn't immediately clear why Altschwager raised his price target, but it does follow a similar move the pundit made at the end of August. Back then, he made a more substantial increase, lifting it to $15 per share from $9.

According to reports, the more substantial lift was based on Kohl's second-quarter results, released on Aug. 27. Although both net and comparable sales declined on a year-over-year basis for the company -- by 5% and 4%, respectively -- at $3.35 billion, they were essentially in line with the consensus analyst estimate.

Meanwhile, Kohl's non-GAAP (adjusted) net income declined only slightly, to $64 million ($0.56 per share) from $66 million. That trounced the average prognosticator projection of $0.29.

Join the club

Between the earnings release and Altschwager's latest price target bump, other analysts have become more positive on Kohl's, too. Researchers lifting their targets in the wake of earnings include TD Cowen, UBS, and JPMorgan Chase unit JPMorgan.

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JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.