Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $190.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on TGT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Target from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set an underperform rating and a $116.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Target from $170.00 to $147.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Target from $191.00 to $181.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $174.57.

Target Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $144.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.40. The firm has a market cap of $66.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. 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 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. Target’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Target will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after buying an additional 417,818 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Target by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,447,538,000 after purchasing an additional 868,274 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Target by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,357,525,000 after buying an additional 137,180 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth $759,810,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Target by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after acquiring an additional 279,656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.