Kenvue Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:KVUE)

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 24,195 call options on the company. This is an increase of 168% compared to the typical volume of 9,030 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Kenvue from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kenvue in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Kenvue from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Kenvue from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Kenvue from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kenvue has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.75.

Kenvue Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:KVUE opened at $23.09 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $44.12 billion, a PE ratio of 43.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.25. Kenvue has a fifty-two week low of $17.67 and a fifty-two week high of $24.46.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Kenvue had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 20.97%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kenvue will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kenvue Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. Kenvue’s payout ratio is 154.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KVUE. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Kenvue during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,982,000. Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new position in shares of Kenvue during the 4th quarter valued at $948,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Kenvue by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 291,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,232,000 after purchasing an additional 8,532 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kenvue in the fourth quarter worth $316,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Kenvue by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 32,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 4,974 shares during the last quarter. 97.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kenvue

Kenvue Inc operates as a consumer health company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Self Care, Skin Health and Beauty, and Essential Health. The Self Care segment offers cough, cold and allergy, pain care, digestive health, smoking cessation, eye care, and other products under the Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Nicorette, Zarbee's, ORSLTM, Rhinocort, Calpol, and Zyrtec brands.