Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-four brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty-one have given a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $128.13.

Several analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. Baird R W downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cfra Research lowered shares of Target from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $124.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Target Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Target stock opened at $98.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target has a 12-month low of $87.35 and a 12-month high of $167.40. The company has a market capitalization of $44.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $98.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.85.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. On average, analysts forecast that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nicholas Company Inc. increased its position in Target by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,544,000 after buying an additional 9,485 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 144.9% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,699,000 after acquiring an additional 138,751 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 14,354 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 3,231 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth $6,459,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Target by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is 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.