Short Interest in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Grows By 18.0%

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,910,000 shares, a growth of 18.0% from the April 30th total of 16,880,000 shares. Approximately 4.4% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 8,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT traded down $1.75 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $94.03. The company had a trading volume of 4,410,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,040,957. Target has a twelve month low of $87.35 and a twelve month high of $167.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price objective on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.70.

Target Company 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.

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