Target’s (TGT) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $180.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

TGT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Target from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Target in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued an underperform rating and a $116.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upgraded Target from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $153.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.52.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $158.50 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $145.94 and a 200-day moving average of $154.63. The firm has a market cap of $73.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.86. Target has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Target will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $759,810,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Target in the first quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 15,009.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $250,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,459 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 51,357.7% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,204 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,683,228 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $382,145,000 after purchasing an additional 984,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.