Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Stock Has Average Price Target of $159.33

Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirty-one brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have issued a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $159.33.

Several research firms have issued reports on TGT. Wolfe Research set a $169.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Target from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Melissa Kremer sold 15,500 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total value of $2,634,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 56,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,684,490.76. The trade was a 21.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matthew Liegel sold 926 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value 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 $2,005,613.66. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TGT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,054,604,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter worth $831,466,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter worth $320,006,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter worth $224,238,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Target during the second quarter valued at about $150,784,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 1.9%

TGT stock opened at $151.80 on Friday. Target has a 1-year low of $83.44 and a 1-year high of $170.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $157.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.98.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $1.76. Target had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 4.08%. The company had revenue of $26.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Target will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.18%.

About Target

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

Target also offers services designed to support omnichannel shopping, including order pickup, Drive Up, same-day delivery, and shipping through its digital channels.