Target (NYSE:TGT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.47.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $150.91 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $152.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.96. Target has a 12-month low of $105.23 and a 12-month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Target will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Target by 56.1% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in Target by 156.5% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. 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.