Target (NYSE:TGT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Target (NYSE:TGT) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.55.

Target Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE TGT opened at $104.29 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $125.89 and a 200-day moving average of $138.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target has a 1-year low of $101.76 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $47.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Target will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $757,892,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $297,122,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $536,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Target by 173.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,200 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Company Profile

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.