Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price Up 1.1% - Still a Buy?

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $99.21 and last traded at $98.71. 1,264,264 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 6,197,112 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Target in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 target price on Target in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Target and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.70.

Target Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.16 and a 200-day moving average of $112.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $44.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share 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 firm 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 company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's payout ratio is 49.23%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 101.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,118,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,268 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 19,783 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,674,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.