TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) Rating Increased to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $140.00 price target on the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock, up from their prior price target of $128.00.

TJX has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded TJX Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on TJX Companies from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.76.

TJX Companies Price Performance

NYSE TJX opened at $121.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.50. TJX Companies has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $128.33. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.38.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that TJX Companies will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,569,772.67. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TJX Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $1,670,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $570,342,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in TJX Companies by 689.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,595,085 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $313,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266,415 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in TJX Companies by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,985,826 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,689,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845,225 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,300,919 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,486,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Company Profile

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.