StockNews.com Downgrades Target (NYSE:TGT) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Roth Mkm cut their target price on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Target from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.70.

Target Stock Down 0.6 %

TGT stock opened at $127.86 on Friday. Target has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $135.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $58.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Cynosure Group LLC raised its stake in Target by 4.3% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in Target by 1.2% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Target by 3.3% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Target by 0.4% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,444,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 1.1% in the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,063,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.