What happened
The news for troubled retailer Kohl's (KSS 1.49%) has been uniformly bad of late. Compounding Friday's announcement from the company that it's cancelling a plan to sell itself, several analysts on Tuesday cut their price targets on the stock. Rather counterintuitively, though, Kohl's shares actually rose on the day, advancing by nearly 3% against a generally flat S&P 500 index.
So what
In a move that was entirely expected following news of the cancellation, three analysts swooped in to reduce their Kohl's price targets. Credit Suisse's Michael Binetti now feels the stock is worth $28 per share, down from $46. Deutsche Bank prognosticator Paul Trussel reduced his level to $37 from the prior $68, and Guggenheim's Robert Drbul cut his to $44 from $68.
Interestingly, none of the three are entirely bearish on Kohl's. In act, Trussell and Drbul both have buy recommendations on it; Binetti rates it a neutral.
Meanwhile another analyst, Jay Sole of UBS, wrote in a new research note that any chance of Kohl's finding a buyer is minimal. Unlike his more optimistic peers, Sole rates the stock a sell.
Now what
The fact that none of the three Tuesday price target cutters downgraded their recommendations on Koh'ls stock could have had something to do with the subsequent investor reaction.
What's likely more of a factor is hope that, by retreating from its attempted sale, the company can now marshal its resources and effort to make itself more competitive in the always-challenging retail space. The company has much to improve upon.
