Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) Shares Gap Up to $18.19

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.19, but opened at $20.08. Kenvue shares last traded at $20.50, with a volume of 2,135,170 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KVUE. Citigroup reduced their price target on Kenvue from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Kenvue from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Kenvue in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Kenvue from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Kenvue from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.45.

Kenvue Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.49 and a 200-day moving average of $19.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.38.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. Kenvue had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 21.06%. Kenvue’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kenvue Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kenvue Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Kenvue’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. Kenvue’s dividend payout ratio is 105.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KVUE. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in shares of Kenvue by 86.1% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 57,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 26,700 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Kenvue by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 745,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,041,000 after buying an additional 280,591 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Kenvue by 93,834.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 43,164 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Kenvue by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,598,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,417,000 after buying an additional 40,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Kenvue by 176.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 350,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,519,000 after acquiring an additional 223,537 shares in the last quarter. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.