Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $180.00 to $150.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on TGT. HSBC downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.13.

Target Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE TGT opened at $125.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $151.27 and a 200 day moving average of $149.61. Target has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Target will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Cynosure Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Target by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of Target by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integral Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently 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.