Target (NYSE:TGT) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.23.

Target Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $133.62 on Friday. Target has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $61.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $136.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.23.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Target will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in Target by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Target by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,444,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.