Target (NYSE:TGT) Upgraded to “Buy” at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Citigroup currently has $180.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Target from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $160.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. Target has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $166.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.90.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Target will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Target by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,029,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $359,691,000 after acquiring an additional 27,148 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Target by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 431,366 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $76,385,000 after buying an additional 39,464 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Target by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,038,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 11.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,558 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,618,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Target

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.