Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target Cut to $137.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $165.00 to $137.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on TGT. UBS Group boosted their target price on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Daiwa America raised Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.13.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $57.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $151.27 and its 200-day moving average is $149.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted 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 previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Target will post 9.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Target by 156.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 133 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.