Target (NYSE:TGT) Given New $155.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price target upped by Guggenheim from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on TGT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Target from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.57.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $135.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.01. Target has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $62.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its 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). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. 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 prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Target will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TGT. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Target by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after acquiring an additional 130,691 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Target by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $647,652,000 after acquiring an additional 279,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Target by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $517,620,000 after acquiring an additional 62,916 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.