Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirty-two research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eighteen have given a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $159.52.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Target from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $150.00 target price on Target in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Target from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Target from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th.

Target Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Target stock opened at $155.86 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $156.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Target has a 12-month low of $83.44 and a 12-month high of $170.75. The company has a market cap of $70.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.98.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $1.76. Target had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The business had revenue of $26.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. Target’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Target will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 48.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $151,410.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,005,613.66. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total transaction of $2,634,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 56,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,684,490.76. This trade represents a 21.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,054,604,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Target by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,772,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,692,265,000 after buying an additional 124,468 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $831,466,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $605,507,000 after buying an additional 142,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Target by 8.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,413,840 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,091,000 after buying an additional 411,608 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

About Target

Target Corporation is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer that operates stores and digital shopping channels under the Target brand. The company sells a broad assortment of products, including apparel and accessories, beauty and personal care items, home furnishings, electronics, groceries, toys, seasonal merchandise and everyday essentials.

Target offers private-label brands alongside national brands and provides services such as Order Pickup, Drive Up and same-day delivery through Shipt.