Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-two research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, sixteen have given a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $160.30.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Daiwa America lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Melius Research began coverage on Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in Target by 59.0% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 109,390 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $17,997,000 after purchasing an additional 40,602 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Target by 170.7% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,187 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 6,424 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Target by 7.7% in the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 11,040 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,956,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter worth about $2,127,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 7.6% during the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 575,094 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $101,912,000 after purchasing an additional 40,471 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $132.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $60.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.51. 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 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Target will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

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.