Target (NYSE:TGT) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $120.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. Target traded as low as $101.76 and last traded at $103.29, with a volume of 1332691 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.20.

TGT has been the subject of several other reports. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target (down from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.55.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TGT. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Target by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Target by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Target by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,332,317,000 after acquiring an additional 470,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $757,892,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $47.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.13.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

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.