The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Short Interest Down 24.0% in April

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,400,000 shares, a decline of 24.0% from the March 31st total of 12,370,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TJX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut TJX Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies

In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total value of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TJX. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.3% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,277 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $2,158,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 4,773 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the third quarter valued at $235,000. Golden State Equity Partners boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 11.8% during the third quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,464 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 4.4% during the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 65,048 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $5,781,000 after buying an additional 2,765 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TJX traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $96.36. 3,748,411 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,860,047. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86. The business's fifty day moving average is $97.33 and its 200-day moving average is $93.94. TJX Companies has a one year low of $75.65 and a one year high of $102.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that TJX Companies will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This is a boost from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About TJX Companies

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.

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