Evercore ISI Cuts Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target to $180.00

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price lowered by Evercore ISI from $183.00 to $180.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on TGT. Gordon Haskett raised their target price on Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Target from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $181.85.

Target Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $163.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Target has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.17. The stock has a market cap of $75.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The business had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is 49.27%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. United Services Automobile Association lifted its position in Target by 2.9% in the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 44,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $605,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Target by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 519,634 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $73,819,000 after acquiring an additional 24,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC lifted its stake in Target by 109.9% in the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 27,267 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,883,000 after acquiring an additional 14,274 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.