TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) Raised to Buy at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $110.00 price target on the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $100.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group raised their price target on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Redburn Atlantic cut TJX Companies from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $102.65.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of TJX stock opened at $96.36 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $97.33 and its 200 day moving average is $93.90. TJX Companies has a 52-week low of $75.65 and a 52-week high of $102.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $109.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that TJX Companies will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.46%.

TJX Companies announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TJX Companies

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 58.4% in the 1st quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About TJX Companies

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.