Target (NYSE:TGT) Upgraded by Citigroup to Buy

Target (NYSE:TGT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $180.00 price target on the retailer’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 12.79% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on TGT. Gordon Haskett boosted their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet raised shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Target Stock Down 0.5 %

TGT opened at $159.59 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.90. Target has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $73.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Target will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $375,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 22.8% in the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Target by 1.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 82,829 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC grew its holdings in Target by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 18,854 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,085,000 after acquiring an additional 2,456 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,883 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,535,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.