Target (NYSE:TGT) Earns Overweight Rating from Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $180.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on TGT. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Target from $191.00 to $181.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Target from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $179.52.

Target Stock Up 1.1 %

TGT stock opened at $158.49 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.56. Target has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.31 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in Target by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in Target by 0.6% during the first quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 20.8% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Target by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,130 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.