JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $167.00 to $139.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the retailer’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.19% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on TGT. Bank of America increased their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.13.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $151.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.69. Target has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Target by 6.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after purchasing an additional 279,656 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Target by 11.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.