Target (NYSE:TGT) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on TGT. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $107.31 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $130.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.51. The stock has a market cap of $49.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target has a fifty-two week low of $107.02 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Target by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 241,447 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $37,632,000 after purchasing an additional 19,095 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at $174,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,247,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 249.6% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 7,345 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is 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.