Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases 5,435 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 65.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,798 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,435 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Target by 407.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,970,414 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,666,672,000 after purchasing an additional 12,825,586 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,444,338 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,074,984,000 after purchasing an additional 6,607,982 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $595,839,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at approximately $186,361,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 35.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,370,062 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $560,420,000 after buying an additional 1,406,653 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Trading Up 3.8%

TGT opened at $89.83 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $90.01 and a 200 day moving average of $95.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.44 and a 12 month high of $145.08. The firm has a market cap of $40.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.44 billion. Target had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 3.72%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-8.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a $1.14 dividend. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 55.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Zacks Research cut shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Target from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Target from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI reissued a “positive” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Target in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.00.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States. The company offers apparel for women, men, boys, girls, toddlers, and infants and newborns, as well as jewelry, accessories, and shoes; and beauty and personal care, baby gear, cleaning, paper products, and pet supplies.