Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Target Call Options (NYSE:TGT)

Key Points

• Target Corporation saw a significant increase in options trading, with traders acquiring 149,080 call options, representing a 107% increase from typical volumes.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of Target's stock, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.
• Target recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.14 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend, and representing an annualized yield of 5.1%.

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 149,080 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 107% compared to the typical volume of 71,941 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 63.4% in the 2nd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 263 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 2,530.0% in the 2nd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 263 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $110.48.

Target Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE TGT traded up $0.99 on Tuesday, hitting $89.82. 16,843,944 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,340,013. The company's 50 day moving average price is $97.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.16. Target has a twelve month low of $86.30 and a twelve month high of $161.50.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $24.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.84 billion. Target had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 3.72%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-9.000 EPS. Analysts predict that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is a positive change from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Target's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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