Evercore ISI Raises Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target to $185.00

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price target lifted by Evercore ISI from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on TGT. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Target from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Target from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $179.73.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $177.21 on Tuesday. Target has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $177.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $154.74 and a 200-day moving average of $134.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $81.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 3,577.5% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in Target by 3.3% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Target by 131.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 702 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the first quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, Ergoteles LLC boosted its position in Target by 191.5% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 11,794 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 7,748 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.