Target (NYSE:TGT) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at Daiwa America

Daiwa America upgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Target in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued an underperform rating and a $116.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an inline rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.68.

Target Stock Down 2.2 %

TGT stock opened at $153.43 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $70.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $146.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.87. Target has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Target will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 417,818 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Target by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,447,538,000 after acquiring an additional 868,274 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,357,525,000 after purchasing an additional 137,180 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $759,810,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Target by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $647,652,000 after buying an additional 279,656 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.