Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target Raised to $166.00

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price objective boosted by Evercore ISI from $165.00 to $166.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on TGT. Barclays raised their price objective on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Gordon Haskett raised their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $177.61.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $143.39 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.56. Target has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $66.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.20.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The business had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Target will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 0.6% during the first quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,130 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Target by 0.3% during the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 27,472 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,868,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.