Target (NYSE:TGT) Cut to Neutral at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird cut shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. Robert W. Baird currently has $110.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.03.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $97.42 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $114.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $173.05.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Analysts anticipate that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

Institutional Trading of Target

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $757,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $297,122,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Target by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $536,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,275 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,532,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $182,882,000. 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.