Target (NYSE:TGT) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Target (NYSE:TGT) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

TGT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.13.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $57.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. Target has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $151.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.69.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new stake in Target in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.