Norges Bank Purchases New Stake in Target Corporation $TGT

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,859,194 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $578,009,000. Norges Bank owned 1.29% of Target at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Target by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 3,347 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Target by 32.3% during the second quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 401 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Target by 63.4% during the second quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 263 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 1.4% in the second quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 7,387 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 9.7% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down from $94.00) on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Target from $117.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Target Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Target stock opened at $90.85 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $90.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.19. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.44 and a 1-year high of $145.08.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $25.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.44 billion. Target had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 3.72%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.14 per share. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 55.34%.

About Target

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.