StockNews.com Lowers Target (NYSE:TGT) to Buy

StockNews.com cut shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on TGT. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Target from $160.00 to $153.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an outperform rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. HSBC upgraded Target from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an outperform rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $180.41.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $145.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.13. Target has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Target will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Target by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,130 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co boosted its holdings in Target by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 27,472 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,868,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.