Target (NYSE:TGT) Downgraded by Daiwa America to “Hold”

Daiwa America downgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Monday. HSBC lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.30.

Target Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $126.55 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $58.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $150.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.05.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly 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 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Target will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $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 at this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Target during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. 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.