Kohl's Corp (KSS)

It is very tough competition. They are beaten up. She likes it as a defensive stock with a great dividend yield of about 5%. It is very well valued, profitable and they have great cash flows.

This company has not done all that well. Amazon has really eaten into their profits. He does not see many levers forward. He avoids general department stores.

(A Top Pick Oct 29/14. Up 13.75%.) *SHORT*doesn’t think there is a huge amount more of a downside. At that time, 50% of their revenues came from their own private label brands, and that doesn’t tend to be something that consumers are looking for right now.

(Top Pick Oct 29/14, Down 12.81%) 50% of their business came from their own white label and consumers went away from these labels. So much of their merchandise was tied up in their own brands and it was not moving. Now is the time to walk away from consumer discretionary. It will most likely go lower from here.

(Top Pick Apr 14/14, Up 36.36%) It was one of the cheaper names in the whole market. She recommended it when they were at a floor in the stock price. They are doing well leveraging their loyalty card. She thinks there is still quite a bit of run room left.

*SHORT*. They came out about a week ago and guided to lower same-store sales. Also, guided to lower earnings going forward. Thinks the overall department store sector in the US is a very mature sector, not a lot of growth. 50% of their revenue is branded and discounters are eating their lunch. Yield of 2.84%.

(Top Pick April 18’13, Up 17.83%) The whole group sold off because of the weather. It’s a temporary issue. They will be able to fire on all cylinders at some point then they get a re-rating. A good entry point. It seems to be the one that is being ignored. They have tough competition, but she thinks they can compete. At some point she thinks you will see everything firing and you will get a much higher share price.

(A Top Pick Jan 11/13. Up 39.33%.) Retail is a very competitive environment. The weather that has kept everybody inside is not helping but she is buying on this dip. Haven’t done the best job in merchandising, but for her it is normal for a retailer to go through these rough patches. They are working on getting this better. One of the cheapest names in this sector. In the meantime, it has very good cash flow.

(Top Pick Jan 11/13, Up 32.96%) Driving home the value proposition to Mom’s. They have a lot of initiatives going on. Maybe people set expectations a little too high for the last quarter. Great balance sheet and good things to happen years down the road.

(Top Pick Feb 21/13, Up 15.32%) National brand retailing and exclusive brands. Target value consumer. People are questioning whether then can execute but she sees it as a merchandizing issue and management have made some change to that so she is comfortable holding it.

(A Top Pick April 18/13. 16.22%.) A lot of retailers were unfairly penalized for minor issues such as merchandising issues. This was a strong cash generator. Strong balance sheet.

(Top Pick Feb 20’13, Up 10.89%) Still likes it and owns it. There is a lot of hate for stores without the same store sales trends. As long as they are unhappy with no increase in same store sales trends, then she is comfortable with them.