StockNews.com Upgrades Target (NYSE:TGT) to “Strong-Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.47.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $150.91 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $69.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.96. Target has a 52 week low of $105.23 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Target will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 56.1% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.