Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Receives $157.70 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-two research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $157.70.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Daiwa America cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TGT. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,332,317,000 after acquiring an additional 470,990 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $757,892,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Target by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $518,089,000 after acquiring an additional 234,409 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $128.72 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $135.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.44. Target has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $58.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.51%.

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.