Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC Raises Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 70.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,604 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 11,425 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $3,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Target by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,605 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $3,397,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,577 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Target by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stolper Co grew its holdings in shares of Target by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Stolper Co now owns 13,287 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,796,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Daiwa America lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. HSBC downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.07.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $133.06 on Friday. Target Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.31. 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 company has a market cap of $60.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

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.