TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $132.00 price objective on the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $104.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded TJX Companies from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an outperform rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $104.29.

TJX Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE TJX opened at $95.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $107.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. TJX Companies has a 12-month low of $75.65 and a 12-month high of $102.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $96.94 and a 200 day moving average of $94.11.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that TJX Companies will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total value of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,206,766 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $9,025,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071,078 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in TJX Companies by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,008,484 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $4,622,514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,036,764 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in TJX Companies by 1.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,752,978 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,200,045,000 after purchasing an additional 371,163 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,219,312 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,333,913,000 after buying an additional 1,046,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,734,141 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,220,690,000 after buying an additional 313,530 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

About TJX Companies

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.