Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-two analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, sixteen have issued a hold recommendation and fifteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $158.23.

TGT has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Target from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $133.62 on Monday. 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 has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $136.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.14. The stock has a market cap of $61.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 879.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,742 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,738,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 186.1% in the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 6,889 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 4,481 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 102,903 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,234,000 after acquiring an additional 10,869 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 7.8% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,067 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.