Piper Sandler Boosts Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target to $127.00

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price raised by analysts at Piper Sandler from $121.00 to $127.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the retailer’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.33% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Target from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $132.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho set a $120.00 target price on Target in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Target from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Target from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.93.

Target Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $122.91 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Target has a one year low of $83.44 and a one year high of $133.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 22.25% and a net margin of 3.54%.Target’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Target will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $240,591.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,038.17. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 16.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 580 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its holdings in Target by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,474 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its holdings in Target by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 2,951 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Target by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 20,163 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC raised its holdings in Target by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Target this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Target reported strong first-quarter results, with earnings per share of $1.71 and revenue of $25.44 billion, both ahead of estimates. Sales rose 6.7% year over year, traffic increased 4.4%, and digital and membership-related revenue also improved. Target Corporation Reports First Quarter Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year sales outlook, signaling that its turnaround strategy under CEO Michael Fiddelke is gaining traction and that shoppers are responding better to refreshed products, stores, and category investments. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Management said Q1 results validate the refreshed strategy, with stronger traffic, improved comparable sales, and better performance across merchandise categories and channels. TGT Q1 Earnings Call Highlights Early Strategy Gains
• Neutral Sentiment: Target also named former Walmart executive Jeff England as its new supply chain and logistics chief, a move aimed at improving efficiency and execution as part of the broader turnaround. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, investors are worried about cost pressures, execution risk, and weaker consumer sentiment, which could limit how much of the turnaround translates into profit improvement this year. Motley Fool article
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Capital downgraded Target from “strong-buy” to “hold,” adding to pressure on the stock and suggesting some analysts think much of the recent improvement is already reflected in the share price. Zacks.com

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.