Target (NYSE:TGT) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

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

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.13.

Target Trading Down 0.0 %

TGT opened at $121.66 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $56.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. Target has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.92.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Target will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TGT. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Target by 8.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after buying an additional 130,691 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Target by 6.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $647,652,000 after buying an additional 279,656 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 11.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after buying an additional 440,307 shares in the last quarter. 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.