Target (NYSE:TGT) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.45 EPS

Target (NYSE:TGTGet Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45), RTT News reports. 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. Target’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $121.73 on Thursday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.12.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.90.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Target

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

About Target

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Earnings History for Target (NYSE:TGT)

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