Roth Mkm Has Lowered Expectations for Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Roth Mkm from $157.00 to $131.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the retailer’s stock. Roth Mkm’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 4.79% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on TGT. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.13.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $57.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.69. Target has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Target will post 9.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % 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. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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