Barclays Reiterates "Underweight" Rating for Target (NYSE:TGT)

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underweight" rating restated by analysts at Barclays in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $91.00 price target on the retailer's stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential downside of 14.79% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on TGT. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 price objective on Target in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Baird R W cut Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Cfra Research cut Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $115.65.

Target Trading Up 5.0%

NYSE:TGT traded up $5.08 on Monday, hitting $106.79. 6,463,153 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,304,970. The stock has a market cap of $48.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.22. 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 fifty day moving average of $98.47 and a 200-day moving average of $109.31. Target has a fifty-two week low of $87.35 and a fifty-two week high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. Target's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 263 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 2,530.0% in the 2nd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 263 shares of the retailer's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Target Company Profile

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.