Daiwa Capital Markets Downgrades Target (NYSE:TGT) to Neutral

Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Daiwa Capital Markets currently has $130.00 target price on the retailer’s stock, down from their previous target price of $170.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.30.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $132.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $60.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.59.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Target will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Cynosure Group LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Target by 1.2% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in Target by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 5.3% during the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by 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.