Target Co. (TGT) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.12 on March 1st

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 15th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of 1.12 per share by the retailer on Saturday, March 1st. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th.

Target has increased its dividend payment by an average of 12.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 54 years. Target has a payout ratio of 44.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Target to earn $9.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.4%.

Target Stock Down 1.1 %

TGT opened at $133.06 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $60.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16. Target has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Target will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $188.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. HSBC cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.07.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States. The company offers apparel for women, men, boys, girls, toddlers, and infants and newborns, as well as jewelry, accessories, and shoes; and beauty and personal care, baby gear, cleaning, paper products, and pet supplies.