Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus on Target is “Hold”: Among 32 brokerages, 17 recommend holding, 11 recommend buying, three recommend selling and one gives a strong-buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $136.89.
• Target’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $1.71 versus the $1.47 consensus and revenue of $25.44 billion, up 6.7% year over year. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $7.50–$8.50.
• Target raised its quarterly dividend to $1.16 per share, equivalent to a $4.64 annualized payout and a 3.0% yield. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company, while an insider recently sold 10,000 shares.

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirty-two research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $136.8889.

TGT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Target from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $123.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Freedom Capital lowered Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Target from $132.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Target from $129.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $152.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $135.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.94. Target has a one year low of $83.44 and a one year high of $153.32.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. Target's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Target will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total value of $1,258,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter worth $26,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 245.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 273 shares of the retailer's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

About Target

Target Corporation NYSE: TGT is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.

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