Sanford C. Bernstein Raises TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) Price Target to $120.00

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) had its price target upped by Sanford C. Bernstein from $115.00 to $120.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI set a $113.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on TJX Companies from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $110.05.

TJX Companies Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE TJX opened at $102.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.27 and a 200-day moving average of $95.15. TJX Companies has a 52-week low of $75.65 and a 52-week high of $104.98.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. 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. The firm had revenue of $12.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.48 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.26% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that TJX Companies will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.22%.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to repurchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TJX Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 33.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 86,909 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $8,814,000 after purchasing an additional 21,667 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in TJX Companies by 232.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 239,766 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $24,317,000 after acquiring an additional 167,703 shares during the period. Community Trust & Investment Co. lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 0.6% in the first quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 189,339 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $19,203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 4.5% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 132,223 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $13,403,000 after acquiring an additional 5,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in TJX Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $72,444,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.