Target’s (TGT) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Oppenheimer

Target (NYSE:TGT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by Oppenheimer in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $165.00 target price on the retailer’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 26.90% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on TGT. Citigroup downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.63.

Target Trading Up 4.0 %

NYSE TGT traded up $5.01 on Monday, hitting $130.02. 5,081,767 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,350,116. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $151.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.54. The company has a market capitalization of $59.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. Target has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Target will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Target during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in Target by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.