The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $166.00 to $142.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 24.81% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on TGT. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.00.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $113.78 on Wednesday. Target has a 1 year low of $112.53 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.72.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. On average, analysts predict that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Target

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Target by 1.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Target by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,430,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,566,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 8.6% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,619,000 after buying an additional 9,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth $1,438,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.