Melius Research Begins Coverage on Target (NYSE:TGT)

Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $180.00 price target on the retailer’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set an underperform rating and a $116.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $179.69.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $155.91 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.64. Target has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $71.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Target will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after purchasing an additional 417,818 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Target by 6.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $647,652,000 after buying an additional 279,656 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Target by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after acquiring an additional 440,307 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Target by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after acquiring an additional 470,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Target by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $461,031,000 after acquiring an additional 435,229 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Target

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.