Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Receives $162.13 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-two analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have given a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $160.30.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Target by 9,940.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after buying an additional 1,981,458 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Target in the first quarter worth about $335,870,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Target by 173.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $126.55 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 $58.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $150.31 and a 200 day moving average of $149.05. Target has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Target will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.51%.

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.