Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 24.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 176,436 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,978 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $18,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,803 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Target by 2.6% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,043 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Target by 9.7% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in Target by 21.4% in the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 606 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 1.2% in the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 9,696 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $91.55 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $41.60 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.60 and a 200 day moving average of $100.77. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $161.50.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The retailer reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $24.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.84 billion. Target had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 3.72%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-9.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Target from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (down previously from $105.00) on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.74.

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.