Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.12

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 12th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of 1.12 per share by the retailer on Sunday, June 1st. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th.

Target has increased its dividend by an average of 12.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 54 consecutive years. Target has a dividend payout ratio of 45.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Target to earn $9.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.1%.

Target Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $104.37 on Friday. Target has a twelve month low of $104.01 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $129.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.26. The company has a market cap of $47.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Target will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.87.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Target stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 101.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,080 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 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.