Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $179.69.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Melius Research started coverage on Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 56.1% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in Target by 0.6% in the first quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 20.8% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Target by 5.3% in the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co raised its stake in Target by 0.3% in the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 27,472 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,868,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $158.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Target has a 52-week low of $105.23 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Target will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

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.