Target (NYSE:TGT) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Target (NYSE:TGT) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Target from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $117.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Target from $93.00 to $80.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Target from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.79.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $91.55 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.42. Target has a fifty-two week low of $83.44 and a fifty-two week high of $145.08. The company has a market capitalization of $41.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. Target had a return on equity of 22.74% and a net margin of 3.58%.The company had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-8.000 EPS. Analysts expect that Target will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Target in the second quarter worth $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 263 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Target by 2,530.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 263 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target in the third quarter valued at $27,000. 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.