Connors Investor Services Inc. Increases Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 30.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 85,261 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,888 shares during the quarter. Target accounts for about 1.6% of Connors Investor Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $15,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 148.6% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 174 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Target stock traded down $2.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $149.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,186,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,721,927. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.25. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $69.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. Target’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on TGT. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Target from $160.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Gordon Haskett boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.57.

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.