Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $179.47.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Daiwa America raised shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new stake in Target in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $151.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.99. Target has a 52-week low of $105.23 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

About Target

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.