Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirty-four research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty-four have issued a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $116.70.

Several analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Target from $155.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Gordon Haskett cut Target from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Cfra Research downgraded shares of Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $4,328,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Target by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Target Stock Up 1.1%

Target stock traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $99.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,315,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,098,307. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target has a 12 month low of $87.35 and a 12 month high of $167.40. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $95.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.66. The company has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. Target's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

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.