Target (NYSE:TGT) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

TGT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Target from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America reduced their target price on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

Target Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $124.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $57.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $134.41 and its 200 day moving average is $142.74.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Target will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Target by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Target by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,332,317,000 after acquiring an additional 470,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $757,892,000. 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.