Target (NYSE:TGT) Trading 0.4% Higher

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) shares shot up 0.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $153.74 and last traded at $152.04. 596,198 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 4,011,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

Target Trading Up 1.1 %

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 company has a market cap of $71.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.05.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its 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 analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate 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 shares of Target during the second quarter worth $25,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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.