Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)’s share price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $156.99 and traded as high as $159.29. Target shares last traded at $158.8910, with a volume of 4,239,887 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Target from $161.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Evercore set a $165.00 price objective on Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Target from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.33.

Target Stock Up 2.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.06. The firm has a market cap of $72.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.98.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $1.76. The firm had revenue of $26.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.13 billion. Target had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 4.08%. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. Analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.18%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $151,410.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,005,613.66. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total transaction of $2,634,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 56,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,684,490.76. This trade represents a 21.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Target in the second quarter worth about $5,054,604,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Target during the second quarter worth approximately $831,466,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Target by 8.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,413,840 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,091,000 after acquiring an additional 411,608 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Target by 1.8% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,575,880 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $597,656,000 after purchasing an additional 82,268 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Target by 12.9% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,514,522 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $589,642,000 after purchasing an additional 514,155 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Target

Target Corporation is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer that operates stores and digital shopping platforms under the Target name. The company sells a broad assortment of products, including apparel and accessories, beauty and household essentials, electronics, toys, groceries, home furnishings, and seasonal merchandise.

Target also offers services designed to support omnichannel shopping, including order pickup, Drive Up, same-day delivery, and shipping through its digital channels.