Analysts Set Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Price Target at $115.65

Key Points

• Target Corporation has an average rating of "Hold" from 35 ratings firms, with 10 analysts assigning a buy rating, 23 a hold, and 2 a sell rating.
• The company reported a miss in quarterly earnings with $1.30 EPS versus the expected $1.65, while revenue of $24.20 billion fell short of analyst estimates.
• Target announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12, scheduled to be paid on September 1st, representing an annualized yield of 4.5%.

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the thirty-five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $115.65.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Loop Capital set a $95.00 target price on Target in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Baird R W downgraded Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, July 21st.

Target Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE TGT traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $99.75. The company had a trading volume of 5,020,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,692,105. The company's fifty day moving average price is $99.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.36. Target has a 12 month low of $87.35 and a 12 month high of $167.40. The stock has a market cap of $45.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.23%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oarsman Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 10.8% during the second quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 67,956 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,704,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH boosted its position in Target by 89.9% during the 2nd quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 13,064 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 6,184 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 145.7% in the 2nd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,591 shares of the retailer's stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 3,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in shares of Target by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 113,507 shares of the retailer's stock worth $11,197,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.