Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target to $137.00

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price cut by Stifel Nicolaus from $165.00 to $137.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the retailer’s stock.

TGT has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.13.

Target Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE TGT opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Target will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,684 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its position in Target by 2.4% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 11,760 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,833,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Target by 234.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,237 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after buying an additional 5,072 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 8,140 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.