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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

TGT has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.13.

Target Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $125.01 on Thursday. Target has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $57.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $151.27 and a 200-day moving average of $149.54.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Target will post 9.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Target in the third quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 156.5% during the third 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.

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.