Jefferies Financial Group Lowers Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target to $150.00

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price target decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $165.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on TGT. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, HSBC lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.43.

Target Trading Down 3.1 %

TGT opened at $117.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $53.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $133.23 and a 200-day moving average of $142.09. Target has a 52 week low of $112.53 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Equities research analysts predict 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 was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Target in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Target by 4.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 135,908 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,121,000 after acquiring an additional 5,548 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Target by 5.3% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,006 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Target by 24.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,049,901 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $163,638,000 after acquiring an additional 208,195 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 6.0% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 182,342 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,420,000 after acquiring an additional 10,281 shares during the period. 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.