Leonteq Securities AG Buys New Stake in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Leonteq Securities AG opened a new position in Target during the fourth quarter, buying 10,423 shares valued at about $1.02 million.
• Target delivered a strong quarter, with EPS of $1.71 and revenue of $25.44 billion, both ahead of analyst expectations. Sales rose 6.7% year over year and traffic increased 4.4%.
• Management raised full-year guidance, now expecting about 4% net sales growth and EPS of $7.50 to $8.50, while analysts at several firms also lifted their price targets on the stock.

Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 10,423 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,019,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 390.0% during the 4th quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 19,734 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,929,000 after acquiring an additional 15,707 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,505 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Northbridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $383,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 40,603 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,968,000 after acquiring an additional 5,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $477,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Target

Here are the key news stories impacting Target this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson raised its price target on Target to $155 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence in further upside after the earnings beat. DA Davidson raises Target price target
• Positive Sentiment: Telsey Advisory Group increased its target to $150 and kept an outperform rating, reflecting improving views on Target’s turnaround. Telsey Advisory Group raises Target price target
• Positive Sentiment: Target beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $1.71 versus expectations around $1.47 and revenue of $25.44 billion versus $24.66 billion expected, while sales rose 6.7% year over year and traffic increased 4.4%. Target beats Q1 earnings estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised full-year guidance, including FY26 net sales growth of about 4% and EPS guidance of $7.50 to $8.50, reinforcing the view that the turnaround is gaining traction. Reuters on Target raising annual sales forecast

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on TGT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Target from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Target from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research raised shares of Target from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $124.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $240,591.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,423,038.17. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock opened at $126.01 on Friday. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.44 and a 12-month high of $133.10. The company has a market capitalization of $57.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $122.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.49.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.66 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Target's payout ratio is presently 56.09%.

Target 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.

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