Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) had its target price cut by Jefferies Group from $15.00 to $14.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday. The firm currently has a hold rating on the stock.

“After a low quality beat in Q4 with lower incentive comp and charges clouding profitability, management guided to a more optimistic top line outlook than most expected. We didn’t really see upside to doing this but Staples is attempting to drive top line growth by reinvesting $150 million of cost savings back into price, marketing and an expanded SKU base. Given the challenges in the business, this will remain a show me story.,” Jefferies Group’s analyst wrote.

Staples traded down 0.38% on Friday, hitting $13.08. Staples has a 1-year low of $10.57 and a 1-year high of $16.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $13.2. The company’s market cap is $8.742 billion.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 26th. This is an increase from Staples’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11.

SPLS has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at Nomura cut their price target on shares of Staples from $16.00 to $13.00 in a research note to investors on Thursday, March 7th. They now have a neutral rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at JPMorgan Chase reiterated an overweight rating on shares of Staples in a research note to investors on Thursday, March 7th. They now have a $14.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at UBS AG cut their EPS estimates on shares of Staples in a research note on Thursday. They now have a $13.00 price target on the stock.

Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, one has given an overweight rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned an underweight rating, and one has given a sell rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of hold and a consensus target price of $13.75.

Staples, Inc. (Staples) is an office products company. Staples operates in three business segments: North American Delivery, North American Retail and International Operations.

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