Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Purchases 27,329 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Target Corporation by 48.1%, holding 84,190 shares valued at approximately $8.79 million as of the last quarter.
• Several analysts have downgraded Target's stock, with Goldman Sachs lowering their price target from $101 to $90, and Bank of America setting an underperform rating with a revised target of $93.
• Target recently reported earnings per share of $2.05 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and setting fiscal year 2025 guidance at $7.00-9.00 EPS.

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 48.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,190 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 27,329 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Target were worth $8,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Petrus Trust Company LTA bought a new position in shares of Target in the 1st quarter valued at about $908,000. Plancorp LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 3,032 shares of the retailer's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its position in shares of Target by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 57,053 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,954,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Target by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 64,702 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Infusive Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,614,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $93.00 price target (down previously from $105.00) on shares of Target in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Target from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $113.74.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $90.81. 5,738,974 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,638,245. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $101.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.99. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $87.35 and a 1-year high of $161.50. The company has a market cap of $41.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The retailer reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.01. Target had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The company had revenue of $24.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. The firm'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 predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.15%.

About Target

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.