Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target Raised to $144.00 at UBS Group

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price target raised by UBS Group from $130.00 to $144.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Target from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Target from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Target from $90.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Target from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Target from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.90.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $120.03 on Wednesday. Target has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $126.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.06.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.28. Target had a return on equity of 22.25% and a net margin of 3.54%.The firm had revenue of $30.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.300- EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Target will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a $1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 55.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,212,397 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,690,262,000 after buying an additional 286,499 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Target by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,772,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,692,265,000 after purchasing an additional 124,468 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,065,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,668,194,000 after purchasing an additional 561,898 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $605,507,000 after purchasing an additional 142,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $587,903,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Target this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company unveiled a multi‑year turnaround and incremental spending plan (store refreshes, payroll/training, assortment changes, AI personalization and same‑day/digital investments) that supports a return to growth and justifies the earlier rally. Target outlines strategic plan
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on EPS and margin improvement (adjusted EPS $2.44 vs. ~$2.16) plus strong free cash flow arguments (supporting dividend/buyback optionality) which drove a sizable short‑term rally. Q4 results press release
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokers raised price targets and issued upgrades (UBS, Oppenheimer, Guggenheim, Telsey and others), reflecting renewed investor confidence in the turnaround’s upside. Analyst reactions / price target moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Management issued FY 2026 EPS guidance above consensus (7.50–8.50 vs. ~7.33), signaling medium‑term improvement, but the company’s sales trajectory remains mixed (some categories growing, total revenue still down year‑over‑year). Guidance and sales context
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm is leaning into AI for personalization and same‑day delivery expansion — a potential multi‑quarter driver for digital sales if execution succeeds, but benefits will accrue gradually. AI personalization article
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 2026 guidance was weak (management offered a low Q1 EPS guide below Street expectations), which introduces near‑term downside risk and explains some of the intraday profit‑taking. Guidance details
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and investors warned about execution risk — turning around categories, reworking store layouts and ramping AI are capital‑intensive and operationally complex; some firms (e.g., BofA, BNP Paribas Exane) remain cautious or retain underperform calls. Seeking Alpha critique

About Target

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.