Target (NYSE:TGT) Cut to “Neutral” at Daiwa Capital Markets

Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $130.00 target price on the retailer’s stock, down from their prior target price of $170.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Target from $165.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Melius Research began coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.30.

Target Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $130.09 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $149.31 and its 200 day moving average is $148.78. Target has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 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 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Target will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Target by 8.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Target by 9,940.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,458 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Target in the first quarter worth approximately $335,870,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Target by 173.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,200 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.