Target (NYSE:TGT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 3,829,788 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the previous session’s volume of 4,223,392 shares.The stock last traded at $123.21 and had previously closed at $121.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.13.

Target Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $152.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24.

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 the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last 90 days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TAP Consulting LLC bought a new position in Target during the third quarter valued at $2,403,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Target by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,793,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,243,928 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $193,879,000 after acquiring an additional 41,394 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Target by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 217,214 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,484,000 after acquiring an additional 36,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its holdings in Target by 166.3% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 16,179 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,000 after acquiring an additional 10,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.