Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Short Interest Up 23.6% in July

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,900,000 shares, an increase of 23.6% from the June 30th total of 8,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,960,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Target during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Target from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Target from $191.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued 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 $176.57.

Target Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Target stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $147.37. The company had a trading volume of 290,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,816,356. The company’s 50-day moving average is $147.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.51. Target has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $68.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $1.12 dividend. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 49.38%.

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.