Target (NYSE:TGT) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Target from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Target from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.23.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $116.70 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $132.91 and a 200-day moving average of $141.92. The company has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target has a one year low of $112.53 and a one year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Equities research analysts forecast that Target will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cynosure Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its stake in shares of Target by 3.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 1.1% during the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target by 2.2% during the third quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 3,460 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.