Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price Down 1.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) fell 1.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $129.62 and last traded at $129.70. 729,663 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 4,556,797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Target in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.57.

Target Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $60.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.17. 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 50 day moving average price is $141.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.31.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Target during the second quarter valued at $37,000. 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.