JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $129.00 to $157.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the retailer’s stock.

TGT has been the topic of several other reports. Evercore set a $150.00 target price on Target in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Target from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Target in a report on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.89.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $149.50 on Friday. Target has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $150.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.66 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total transaction of $1,258,900.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TGT. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter worth $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.