Target (NYSE:TGT) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $129.00 to $157.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Target traded as high as $151.23 and last traded at $151.0440, with a volume of 1150103 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $149.70.

TGT has been the subject of several other research reports. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wolfe Research set a $169.00 price objective on Target in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Target from $132.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related 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 sale, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at $5,782,127.70. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in Target by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 8,455 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 580 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,474 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Target by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,478 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Target by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 20,163 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 1.1%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $68.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.96.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.24%.

About Target

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.