Target Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:TGT)

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 273,676 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,197% compared to the average volume of 21,093 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $151,410.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,266 shares in the company, valued at $2,005,613.66. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total transaction of $2,634,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 56,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,684,490.76. This represents a 21.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target in the second quarter worth about $5,054,604,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at about $831,466,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $320,006,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $224,238,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $150,784,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $154.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Zacks Research raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $170.00 price target on Target in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $161.70.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT traded up $7.50 on Monday, reaching $165.91. 3,574,105 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,040,058. Target has a 52-week low of $83.44 and a 52-week high of $170.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.02. The stock has a market cap of $75.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $1.76. Target had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The firm had revenue of $26.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Target will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 48.18%.

About Target

Target Corporation is a U.S. general merchandise retailer that sells products through its stores and digital channels. Its assortment includes apparel and accessories, beauty products, home goods, groceries, electronics, toys, and household essentials, along with merchandise from national brands and Target-owned brands.

The company also offers services such as in-store and curbside order pickup and same-day delivery in eligible areas. Target serves customers across the United States.

The company traces its history to the Dayton Dry Goods Company, founded in Minneapolis in 1902.