Target (NYSE:TGT) Issues Q4 Earnings Guidance

Target (NYSE:TGT) updated its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.85-2.45 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $2.65. Target also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 8.300-8.900 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $188.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.90.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $121.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.12. Target has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Target will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.28%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 in the last 90 days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.