Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases New Stake in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has made a new investment of approximately $3.87 million in Target Corporation, acquiring 37,032 shares during the first quarter.
• Target's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.05, slightly above analysts' expectations, with revenue of $24.99 billion, though down 0.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 4.7%, with a payout ratio of 53.15%.

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 37,032 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,865,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 407.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,970,414 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,666,672,000 after buying an additional 12,825,586 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 35.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,370,062 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $560,420,000 after buying an additional 1,406,653 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Target by 7.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,194,231 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $542,020,000 after buying an additional 370,967 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $536,407,000 after buying an additional 1,506,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,798,816 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $513,524,000 after buying an additional 477,761 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Target from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Target from $108.00 to $106.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Target from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.74.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT traded up $0.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $92.85. 2,326,337 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,134,582. The company has a market cap of $42.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $161.50. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $101.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.89.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The retailer reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.01. Target had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 3.72%.The business had revenue of $24.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. The business's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-9.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.15%.

Target 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.