Target (NYSE:TGT) Shares Up 4.8% – Still a Buy?

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)’s stock price traded up 4.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $101.80 and last traded at $101.99. 2,739,822 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 6,050,829 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of 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 reduced their price target on Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Cfra Research cut Target from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.70.

Target Stock Up 3.8%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.89. The firm has a market cap of $45.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target by 407.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,970,414 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,666,672,000 after acquiring an additional 12,825,586 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $757,892,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 1,364.3% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,289,692 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $343,312,000 after buying an additional 3,065,035 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $297,122,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth approximately $186,361,000. 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.