TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $97.70, but opened at $102.10. TJX Companies shares last traded at $103.13, with a volume of 1,290,694 shares trading hands.

The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.06. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The firm had revenue of $12.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.86%.

TJX Companies declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $114.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 260.3% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. First Pacific Financial acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TJX Companies Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $113.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $97.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

TJX Companies Company Profile

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.