Target (NYSE:TGT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday.

TGT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Daiwa America cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.55.

Target Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $104.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $47.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target has a fifty-two week low of $101.76 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $125.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.03.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Target will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Target by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the 3rd quarter valued at about $153,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 14,466 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,255,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,370,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.