StockNews.com Lowers Target (NYSE:TGT) to Buy

StockNews.com cut shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Target from $191.00 to $181.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Roth Mkm reissued a neutral rating and issued a $153.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Thursday. Gordon Haskett boosted their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $180.41.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $145.23 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $164.92 and a 200-day moving average of $150.13. Target has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $67.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Target will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Target

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in Target by 148.6% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 174 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 56.1% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Retirement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 85.0% in the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 198 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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.