Target (NYSE:TGT) Trading Up 3.3% – Here’s Why

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) shares traded up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $98.86 and last traded at $99.7530. 957,796 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 7,338,900 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on TGT shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Target from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Target from $117.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Friday, November 14th. Zacks Research raised Target from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Monday, October 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.62.

Target Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $44.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.50.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. Target had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 22.74%. The firm had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-8.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 48.1% in the first quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 84,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,786,000 after purchasing an additional 27,329 shares during the period. LBP AM SA acquired a new position in shares of Target in the second quarter worth $5,427,000. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,208 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 2,869 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,623,000. Finally, Mattern Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 79,158 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,809,000 after purchasing an additional 5,573 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.