Target (NYSE:TGT) Rating Increased to Buy at Citigroup

Target (NYSE:TGT) was upgraded by equities researchers at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $180.00 price target on the retailer’s stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 12.79% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on TGT. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Gordon Haskett upped their price objective on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $159.59 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $166.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.90. Target has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $73.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 82.8% in the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.