Steele Capital Management Inc. Buys Shares of 1,229 Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Steele Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,229 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Target by 153.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 77,882 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,611,000 after buying an additional 47,144 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Target by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 168.3% in the 3rd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 14,032 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after buying an additional 8,802 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Target by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 11,933 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after buying an additional 5,420 shares during the period. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 1,356.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 46,427 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,133,000 after buying an additional 43,239 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Target from $191.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Target in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 price target on the stock. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $153.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.61.

Target Trading Down 1.6 %

Target stock traded down $2.30 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $145.74. 2,627,052 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,938,581. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.86. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $152.97 and its 200-day moving average is $153.33.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The business had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.38%.

Target 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.