Target (NYSE:TGT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Target (NYSE:TGT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

TGT has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler started coverage on Target in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.47.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $151.07 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $152.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.99. The company has a market capitalization of $69.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.24. Target has a 1-year low of $105.23 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

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

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 9,940.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after buying an additional 1,981,458 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Target during the 1st quarter worth $335,870,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 711.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,762,000 after purchasing an additional 768,479 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter worth about $107,367,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Target by 17.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $558,898,000 after purchasing an additional 470,647 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.