Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $181.85.

Several research firms recently commented on TGT. Citigroup upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after acquiring an additional 417,818 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Target by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,447,538,000 after acquiring an additional 868,274 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,357,525,000 after acquiring an additional 137,180 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $747,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $759,810,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock opened at $160.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $166.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.90. Target has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $74.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Target will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

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.