Target (NYSE:TGT) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Target (NYSE:TGT) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

TGT has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $112.88 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target has a 1 year low of $111.84 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.74. The firm has a market cap of $51.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Target by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 19,084 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $277,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $118,000. Probity Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 8,711 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,883 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.