Target (NYSE:TGT) Rating Reiterated by Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $195.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on TGT. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a neutral rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $179.68.

Target Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $154.75 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Target has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $71.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Target will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verity & Verity LLC increased its holdings in Target by 10.2% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 106,952 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,833,000 after buying an additional 9,903 shares during the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,591,000. Creekside Partners purchased a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,486,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.