Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 303 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $47,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Cynosure Group LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Target by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Target by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integral Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Target by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Target in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa America lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.30.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT stock traded up $3.54 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $130.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,745,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,429,671. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $59.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.92.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target 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.