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

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on TGT. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.03.

Target Stock Up 9.8 %

Target stock opened at $97.42 on Thursday. 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 $87.35 and a 1-year high of $173.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.73. The company has a market cap of $44.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Nicholas Company Inc. raised its stake in Target by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,544,000 after buying an additional 9,485 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 144.9% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,699,000 after acquiring an additional 138,751 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $6,459,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Target by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 14,354 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 3,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Target by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. 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.