Target (NYSE:TGT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 3,829,788 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the previous session’s volume of 4,223,392 shares.The stock last traded at $123.21 and had previously closed at $121.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on TGT. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Daiwa America raised shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.13.

Target Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $152.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. Target’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Target during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in Target during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Target during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in Target by 156.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.