Target (NYSE:TGT) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

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

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.13.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $151.27 and a 200 day moving average of $149.54. Target has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Target will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. TAP Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Target during the third quarter valued at $2,403,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Target by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,793,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,243,928 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $193,879,000 after buying an additional 41,394 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 217,214 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,484,000 after acquiring an additional 36,941 shares during the period. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,937,000. Hedge funds and other 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.