Target (NYSE:TGT) Trading Up 1.3%

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) shares shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $157.54 and last traded at $157.27. 715,704 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,018,432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

Target Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $148.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.74. The firm has a market cap of $72.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,093,000 after purchasing an additional 12,460 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $346,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth $208,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 207.9% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 8,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 5,837 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Target by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,601 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,795,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.