Target Company Profile (NYSE:TGT)

Target trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol "TGT."

Target announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share on Sunday, September 10th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. View Target's Dividend History.

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May, 17th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters' consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.30. The business earned $16.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.63 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 24.72%. Target's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. View Target's Earnings History.

Target is scheduled to release their next quarterly earnings announcement on Wednesday, August, 16th 2017. View Earnings Estimates for Target.

Target issued an update on its second quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday, May, 17th. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.95-1.15 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $1.00. Target also updated its FY18 guidance to $3.80-4.20 EPS.

27 brokers have issued 12-month price objectives for Target's shares. Their predictions range from $28.00 to $87.00. On average, they expect Target's share price to reach $64.00 in the next twelve months. View Analyst Ratings for Target.

Here are some recent quotes from research analysts about Target stock:

• 1. According to Zacks Investment Research, "Target commenced fiscal 2017 on a high note with both top and bottom lines surpassing expectations. Better-than-expected results provided much needed impetus to the stock that came under pressure after dismal performance in the final quarter of fiscal 2016. The quarter did witness a sluggish start but it gradually picked up in the later part. We believe that the initiatives such as the development of omni-channel capacities, diversification and localization of assortments along with emphasis on flexible format stores, bode well. However, waning top and bottom lines continue to remain a concern. Moreover, management now expects low single digit decline in comparable sales during the second quarter and fiscal 2017. Further, it now envisions fiscal 2017 adjusted earnings to come ahead of the midpoint of the previous guidance range but still down from the prior year." (6/6/2017)
• 2. Stifel Nicolaus analysts commented, "Earlier today Target Corporation reported results largely inline with negatively preannounced levels but most notably issued first-time 2017 guidance meaningfully below consensus. The company anticipates comparable store sales to decline in the low-single-digits, with adjusted EPS of $3.80-$4.20, compared to consensus coming into today of 0.4% comp store sales growth and EPS of $5.32. The cut reflects a meaningful change in business model, including considerable investment in gross margin and exclusive physical and digital assets, in total negatively impacting EBIT by $1.0bn in 2017, compared to $5.0bn of EBIT in 2016." (3/1/2017)
• 3. Instinet analysts commented, "seismic shift"Analyst Jessica Schoen Mace commented, "Today we attended Target's 2017 Financial Community in NYC where mgmt. set the stage for a multiphase, multi-year transition for the business which involves investment in price, stores, brands and supply chain, and is expected to have a $1bn negative impact on EBIT in 2017. Management acknowledged the "seismic" shift occurring in retail, and appears to be embracing a new reality with its strategies. Our near- and medium-term concerns include: the absence of a timeframe for this transformation to take place and the reliance on price to drive traffic in light of very priced-focused competition. While this may be a case of short-term pain for long-term gain, we remain unclear on the path to profitable market-share gains across both channels following this reset. We lower our FY17 EPS to $4.00 and our target price to $60." (3/1/2017)
• 4. Jefferies Group LLC analysts commented, "There was a certain familiarity with TGT's actions today and resulting share price decline. WMT had a similar event in the fall of 2015. While there are similarities, there are also clear differences in the strategies and we think change at WMT was greater. Nonetheless, TGT is planning constructive changes through store remodels, price strategy changes, new brands, supply chain optimization and cost reductions." (3/1/2017)
• 5. Cowen and Company analysts commented, "TGT is now reimagining, repositioning, & reinventing retail as we believe customer changes are occurring faster than expected with high demands for ease, value, & inspiration. Significant price investment, store remodels and small format growth, a smarter supply chain, & digital infrastructure growth are key long-view efforts." (2/28/2017)

Target saw a decrease in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 34,925,827 shares, a decrease of 6.5% from the May 15th total of 37,361,020 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,620,953 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Some companies that are related to Target include Carnival plc (CCL), Compass Group plc (CPG), Dollar General Corp. (DG), Sky Plc (SKY), Yum China Holdings (YUMC), L Brands (LB), Sky Plc (BSY), D.R. Horton (DHI), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Gap (GPS), InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG), PulteGroup (PHM), Burberry Group plc (BRBY), Whitbread plc (WTB), Persimmon plc (PSN), Tui AG (TUI), Kingfisher plc (KGF) and Toll Brothers (TOL).

Target's management team includes the folowing people:

• Brian C. Cornell, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer
• Catherine R. Smith, Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President
• John J. Mulligan, Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President
• Stephanie A. Lundquist, Chief Human Resource Officer, Executive Vice President
• Michael Edward McNamara, Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer
• Rick Gomez, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer
• Jacqueline Hourigan Rice, Executive Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Risk Officer
• Don H. Liu J.D., Executive Vice President, Corporate Secretary, hief Legal Officer
• Casey L. Carl, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer
• Janna A. Potts, Executive Vice President, Chief Stores Officer

Target's stock is owned by a variety of of retail and institutional investors. Top institutional shareholders include State Street Corp (9.26%), BlackRock Inc. (8.51%), Vanguard Group Inc. (6.70%), FMR LLC (2.13%), Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC (1.87%) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp (1.73%). Company insiders that own Target stock include Anne M Mulcahy, Calvin Darden, Catherine R Smith, Cathy R Smith, Don H Liu, Donald R Knauss, John J Mulligan, Laysha Ward, Robert L Edwards, Robert M Harrison, Roxanne S Austin and Timothy R Baer. View Institutional Ownership Trends for Target.

Target's stock was sold by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Vanguard Group Inc., FMR LLC, Renaissance Technologies LLC, TIAA CREF Investment Management LLC, Levin Capital Strategies L.P., Principal Financial Group Inc. and Bahl & Gaynor Inc.. Company insiders that have sold Target stock in the last year include Anne M Mulcahy and Roxanne S Austin. View Insider Buying and Selling for Target.

Target's stock was purchased by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including BlackRock Inc., Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC, Bank of New York Mellon Corp, Schroder Investment Management Group, Geode Capital Management LLC, OppenheimerFunds Inc., Swiss National Bank and O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC. Company insiders that have bought Target stock in the last two years include Catherine R Smith, Cathy R Smith, Don H Liu, Donald R Knauss and Robert L Edwards. View Insider Buying and Selling for Target.

Shares of Target can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages include Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Scottrade, Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

One share of Target stock can currently be purchased for approximately $51.48.