Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the thirty-three brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $126.1071.

TGT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Target from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $123.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Target from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Target from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, June 12th.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $130.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.16. Target has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $137.87. The company has a market capitalization of $59.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.00.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.24. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.The business had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.66 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Target will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 60.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total value of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Target by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,267,577 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $113,702,000 after purchasing an additional 124,371 shares during the period. Winning Points Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $611,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 342,487 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,721,000 after purchasing an additional 45,803 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $605,507,000 after purchasing an additional 142,937 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 155,222 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,173,000 after purchasing an additional 10,839 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.