Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Receives $157.70 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirty-two analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, sixteen have issued a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $157.70.

Several research analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, November 25th.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $131.29 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $135.22 and a 200-day moving average of $143.80. The stock has a market cap of $60.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week 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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Target by 87.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 52,732 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,128,000 after purchasing an additional 24,610 shares in the last quarter. Summit X LLC purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $704,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 598,831 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $80,950,000 after buying an additional 31,279 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 14,776 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,997,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natural Investments LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $374,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Target

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.