Target (NYSE:TGT) Cut to Hold at Hsbc Global Res

Target (NYSE:TGT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

TGT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Melius Research assumed coverage on Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.13.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $121.66 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $151.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.92. The company has a market capitalization of $56.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Target has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Target will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. State Street Corp raised its stake in Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Target by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased 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 worth $647,652,000 after purchasing an additional 279,656 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Target by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.