Sanford C. Bernstein Raises TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) Price Target to $120.00

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) had its target price increased by Sanford C. Bernstein from $115.00 to $120.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock.

TJX has been the subject of several other research reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded TJX Companies from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on TJX Companies from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $110.05.

TJX Companies Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of TJX opened at $102.14 on Thursday. TJX Companies has a twelve month low of $75.65 and a twelve month high of $104.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.12.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.26% and a net margin of 8.47%. The business had revenue of $12.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that TJX Companies will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.22%.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total value of $1,979,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 260.3% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the first quarter worth $30,000. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About TJX Companies

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.