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 Thursday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share on Saturday, June 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 15th. 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, topping the Zacks' consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.30. The company earned $16.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.63 billion. Target had a return on equity of 25.18% and a net margin of 4.75%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. View Target's Earnings History.

Target updated 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 EPS estimate of $1.00. Target also updated its FY18 guidance to $3.80-4.20 EPS.

27 brokers have issued 12-month target prices for Target's stock. Their forecasts range from $28.00 to $87.00. On average, they expect Target's share price to reach $65.00 in the next year. View Analyst Ratings for Target.

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

• 1. According to Zacks Investment Research, "Target, which has underperformed the industry in the past six months, has been witnessing a downtrend in estimates post fourth-quarter fiscal 2016 results. After three straight quarters of earnings beat, the company succumbed to a negative earnings surprise in the final quarter. Total sales also fell short of expectations, after surpassing the same in the preceding quarter. Moreover, it continues to decline year over year. The sale of the pharmacy and clinic businesses to CVS Health, stiff competition and sluggish traffic impacted the top line. The dismal performance compelled management to provide a bleak outlook for fiscal 2017. Nevertheless, 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. The company intends to launch new brands and will try to be more competitive in terms of price." (5/15/2017)
• 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 increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 37,361,020 shares, an increase of 7.6% from the April 28th total of 34,733,679 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,025,860 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 6.8% of the company's shares are short sold.

Some companies that are related to Target include JD.Com (JD), TJX Companies (TJX), HENNES & MAURITZ SPON (HNNMY), Kering Unspon (PPRUY), Wal-mart de Mexico S A B de C V (WMMVY), eBay (EBAY), Compass Group plc (CMPGY), Ctrip.Com International Ltd (CTRP), Kroger Co (KR), Yum! Brands (YUM), Ross Stores (ROST), O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY), Expedia (EXPE), Dollar General Corp. (DG), Tesco PLC (TSCDY), Carrefour Sa Spon (CRRFY), Ulta Beauty (ULTA) and Dollar Tree (DLTR).

Target's stock is owned by a number of of institutional and retail 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 acquired 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 $54.40.