Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Target (NYSE:TGT)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 44,303 Target call options, 59% above the typical volume of 27,924 contracts.
• Mixed analyst outlook: Wolfe Research and RBC upgraded or favored the stock, but Target’s consensus rating remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $132.15.
• Strong financial and shareholder results: Target exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while revenue rose 6.7% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.16, producing a 3.2% annualized yield.

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 44,303 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 59% compared to the typical volume of 27,924 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Wolfe Research raised Target from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $162.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $123.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, June 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Target from $132.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.15.

Target Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE TGT traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $146.44. The stock had a trading volume of 2,140,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,542,899. Target has a 52-week low of $83.44 and a 52-week high of $147.77. The firm has a market cap of $66.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.98. The business's fifty day moving average price is $131.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.66 billion. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.Target's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Analysts expect that Target will post 8.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This is an increase from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.24%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total value of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. The trade was a 17.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 245.6% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 273 shares of the retailer's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 134.9% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 296 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Target

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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