Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-two brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, sixteen have assigned a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $143.8519.

TGT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $124.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Target from $130.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Target in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Evercore set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total transaction of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 245.6% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $150.94 on Tuesday. Target has a twelve month low of $83.44 and a twelve month high of $156.47. The company has a market capitalization of $68.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $138.56 and a 200 day moving average of $126.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.66 billion. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Target will post 8.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.29%.

Target Company Profile

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.