Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirty-two research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seventeen have given a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $143.2963.

Several analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on Target from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Argus set a $150.00 price objective on Target in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Target from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total transaction of $1,258,900.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at $5,782,127.70. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Target by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,212,397 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,690,262,000 after buying an additional 286,499 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,054,604,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Target by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,772,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,692,265,000 after buying an additional 124,468 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,065,926 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,668,194,000 after acquiring an additional 561,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at about $831,466,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $154.52 on Tuesday. Target has a 52-week low of $83.44 and a 52-week high of $156.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $138.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.14. The company has a market cap of $70.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.66 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Target will post 8.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 61.29%.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.