Target (NYSE:TGT) Trading Up 4.8% – Should You Buy?

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)’s share price was up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $101.80 and last traded at $101.99. Approximately 2,739,822 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 6,050,829 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Target from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Target from $155.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.70.

Target Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,603,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC increased its stake in Target by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 3,609 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC increased its stake in Target by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 28,668 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,875,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Company 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.