Evercore ISI Boosts Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target to $108.00

Key Points

• Evercore ISI has raised its price target for Target (NYSE:TGT) from $104.00 to $108.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3.79% from the stock's previous close.
• Target's quarterly earnings report showed an earnings per share of $1.30, missing estimates, with revenue down 2.8% from the same quarter last year.
• The stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with three sell ratings and ten buy ratings among recent evaluations.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Evercore ISI from $104.00 to $108.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "in-line" rating on the retailer's stock. Evercore ISI's price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.79% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Cfra Research downgraded shares of Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Target from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Loop Capital set a $95.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $115.26.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $104.06 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $101.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.64. Target has a 12 month low of $87.35 and a 12 month high of $167.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Auxano Advisors LLC increased its position in Target by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,116 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Target by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,291 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $415,000. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Target by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 16,271 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Target by 151.8% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 40,322 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,185,000 after acquiring an additional 24,310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company's stock.

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.

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