The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $102.65.

TJX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE TJX opened at $96.36 on Friday. TJX Companies has a one year low of $75.65 and a one year high of $102.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $109.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.87.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. TJX Companies’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that TJX Companies will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.46%.

TJX Companies announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TJX Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,206,766 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $9,025,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071,078 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,008,484 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $4,622,514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,036,764 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,752,978 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,200,045,000 after purchasing an additional 371,163 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,219,312 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,333,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,148 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,734,141 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,220,690,000 after buying an additional 313,530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

About TJX Companies

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.