Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Target (NYSE:TGT) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on TGT. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $127.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $58.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.21. Target has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Target by 8.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Target by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after buying an additional 1,306,552 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Target by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,532,769,000 after buying an additional 1,358,348 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,332,317,000 after acquiring an additional 470,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $757,892,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.