Target (NYSE:TGT) Downgraded by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft to Hold

Target (NYSE:TGT) was downgraded by equities researchers at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $108.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $184.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target suggests a potential downside of 11.23% from the stock’s current price.

TGT has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.13.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $121.66 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.92. Target has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

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

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.