TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $133.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.25.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of TJX traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $133.37. 4,871,615 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,346,288. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. TJX Companies has a fifty-two week low of $97.53 and a fifty-two week high of $133.87. The company has a market cap of $148.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day moving average is $123.95 and its 200 day moving average is $122.76.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The company had revenue of $16.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.24 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that TJX Companies will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is an increase from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total value of $988,240.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,569,772.67. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TJX. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new stake in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 210.1% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 214 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company's stock.

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.