Target (NYSE:TGT) Raised to Outperform at Daiwa Capital Markets

Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. Daiwa Capital Markets currently has $170.00 price target on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on TGT. StockNews.com raised Target from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.68.

Target Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE TGT opened at $153.43 on Monday. Target has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.87. The firm has a market cap of $70.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Little House Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the first quarter worth approximately $1,041,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Target by 23.6% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 642,340 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $112,686,000 after purchasing an additional 122,706 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 11.4% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,558 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,618,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares during the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the first quarter worth approximately $13,958,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association lifted its stake in Target by 134.6% during the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 103,785 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,781,000 after purchasing an additional 59,553 shares during the last quarter. 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.