Bank of America Cuts Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target to $160.00

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price target reduced by Bank of America from $195.00 to $160.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. HSBC downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Daiwa America upgraded Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.13.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $151.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Target will post 9.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cynosure Group LLC lifted its stake in Target by 4.3% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Target by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its position in shares of Target by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 20.8% during the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 5.3% in the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.