Target (NYSE:TGT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on TGT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Target from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $114.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Target from $132.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.64.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $134.01 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Target has a 1-year low of $83.44 and a 1-year high of $142.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $128.61 and its 200-day moving average is $119.71.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.24. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.The business had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Target will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total transaction of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Winning Points Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $611,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $605,507,000 after purchasing an additional 142,937 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 41.8% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 111,001 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,453,000 after buying an additional 32,746 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new position in shares of Target in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,686,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Target by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 155,222 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,173,000 after buying an additional 10,839 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Target

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.