Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Rating Lowered by Hsbc Global Res

Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.13.

Target Trading Up 2.8 %

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

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Target will post 9.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cynosure Group LLC raised its holdings in Target by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Target by 1.2% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in Target by 3.3% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 20.8% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in 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.