Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirty-three analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $116.3214.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Target from $91.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $240,591.07. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,038.17. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,212,397 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,690,262,000 after purchasing an additional 286,499 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Target by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,772,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,692,265,000 after acquiring an additional 124,468 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,065,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,668,194,000 after acquiring an additional 561,898 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $605,507,000 after acquiring an additional 142,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth $587,903,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $119.46 on Wednesday. Target has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $126.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.28. Target had a return on equity of 22.25% and a net margin of 3.54%.The firm had revenue of $30.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.300- EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.09%.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.