Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirty-four ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty-four have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $116.70.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Target from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price target on Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America lowered Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. City Center Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the second quarter valued at about $257,000. HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 11.4% in the second quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,298 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,298,000 after buying an additional 2,384 shares during the period. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the first quarter valued at about $1,920,000. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Target by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 531,677 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $55,486,000 after purchasing an additional 16,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,319,813 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $137,736,000 after purchasing an additional 12,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $104.17 on Monday. Target has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $47.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $97.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.49.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The business had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. Target's payout ratio is presently 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.

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