BMO Capital Markets Has Lowered Expectations for Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price objective decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $160.00 to $120.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. HSBC cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the 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

NYSE:TGT opened at $125.01 on Thursday. Target has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $151.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.51%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new stake in Target during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Target during the third quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Target during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 156.5% in 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 in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.