Target (NYSE:TGT) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on TGT. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.13.

Target Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.61. Target has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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 return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, 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 approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Target by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 352 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 9.0% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Target during the 1st quarter valued at about $245,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Target by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 303,593 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,799,000 after purchasing an additional 17,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 84,656 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,002,000 after buying an additional 3,370 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is 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.