TJX Companies Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:TJX)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy options activity hit TJX Companies, with traders buying 23,510 call options on Tuesday — a 333% jump above the stock’s typical daily call volume.
• CEO Ernie Herrman sold 30,000 shares on March 2 at an average price of $160.95, trimming his ownership by 5.89% and bringing the transaction value to about $4.83 million.
• TJX continues to draw bullish analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan raised its price target to $174, several firms upgraded or reiterated buy ratings, and institutional investors own 91.09% of the stock.

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 23,510 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 333% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,434 call options.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.95, for a total value of $4,828,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 479,316 shares in the company, valued at $77,145,910.20. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $2,211,975,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 15,998.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,779,983 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $603,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,756,502 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 91.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,712,226 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $970,185,000 after acquiring an additional 3,208,458 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 120.7% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,016,792 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $620,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,743,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 22.1% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 9,725,542 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,391,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761,281 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

TJX Companies stock traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $150.92. 4,697,496 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,068,914. The company has a market cap of $166.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. TJX Companies has a twelve month low of $119.84 and a twelve month high of $165.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $156.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.26.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.36 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 57.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. TJX Companies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.930-5.020 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.970-0.990 EPS. Equities analysts expect that TJX Companies will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TJX has been the topic of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of TJX Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $173.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-three have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $167.95.

Key TJX Companies News

Here are the key news stories impacting TJX Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on TJX Companies (TJX) to $174 from $173 and kept an overweight rating, signaling confidence in upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Truist initiated coverage with a buy rating and a $175 price target, adding another bullish analyst call for the off-price retailer.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings-preview pieces from Zacks and Yahoo Finance highlighted TJX’s strong history of earnings surprises and favorable setup for another potential beat, which can lift expectations ahead of the next quarterly report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional stock-screening coverage placed TJX among off-price retail names to watch, reinforcing that the company remains on investors’ radar, but without a major new fundamental catalyst.

TJX Companies Company Profile

TJX Companies, Inc is a leading off-price retailer of apparel, footwear, home fashions and other consumer goods. The company operates multiple retail concepts that offer discounted brand-name and designer merchandise, including well-known banners such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the United States, HomeGoods for home furnishings, TK Maxx in parts of Europe, and Winners and Homesense in Canada. Merchandise categories span women's, men's and children's apparel, accessories, beauty, home décor, kitchenware and small furniture, with frequent changes in assortment that create a “treasure-hunt” shopping experience for consumers.

The company's business model centers on opportunistic buying, purchasing excess, irregular or out-of-season inventory from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers, and passing savings to customers through lower prices.

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