Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $156.00 to $130.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the retailer’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.99% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $188.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.13.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Target has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $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 return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target 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 value of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted 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 valued at $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 9,940.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Target by 173.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after buying an additional 1,502,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.