Royal Bank of Canada Raises Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target to $177.00

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price target increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $174.00 to $177.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the retailer’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 10.81% from the stock’s previous close.

TGT has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.61.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock traded up $0.48 on Thursday, hitting $159.73. 2,209,445 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,032,661. Target has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $145.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.43.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 148.6% during the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 174 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in Target by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Retirement Group LLC lifted its position in Target by 85.0% during the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 198 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Company 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.