Target (NYSE:TGT) Rating Lowered to Neutral at Robert W. Baird

Target (NYSE:TGT) was downgraded by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $110.00 target price on the retailer’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price suggests a potential upside of 24.00% from the company’s current price.

TGT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.03.

Target Stock Down 6.0 %

Target stock opened at $88.71 on Monday. Target has a twelve month low of $87.35 and a twelve month high of $173.05. The stock has a market cap of $40.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $116.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. As a group, analysts expect that Target will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nicholas Company Inc. raised its position in Target by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,544,000 after purchasing an additional 9,485 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 144.9% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,699,000 after acquiring an additional 138,751 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,459,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 14,354 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,940,000 after acquiring an additional 3,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Target by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.