Target (NYSE:TGT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.23.

Target Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $133.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $136.13 and its 200-day moving average is $145.14. Target has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 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 the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Target will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake 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 buying an additional 490 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Target by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,619,000 after acquiring an additional 9,510 shares during the period. Prana Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Target by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 217,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,834,000 after purchasing an additional 69,885 shares during the last quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth $2,272,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target in the third quarter valued at $967,000. 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.