Telsey Advisory Group Reiterates Outperform Rating for Target (NYSE:TGT)

Target (NYSE:TGT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by equities researchers at Telsey Advisory Group in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $195.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 60.28% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.13.

Target Stock Down 0.0 %

TGT stock opened at $121.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Target has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $151.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.92.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Target’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Target will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Target by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 9,940.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Target during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Target by 173.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after buying an additional 1,502,200 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Company Profile

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.