TJX Companies Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:TJX)

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 13,386 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 54% compared to the typical volume of 8,697 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TJX Companies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 47,104 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 5,207 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 55.1% in the fourth quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 34,487 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $4,166,000 after buying an additional 12,247 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $22,684,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 21,102 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after buying an additional 6,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in TJX Companies by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,031,237 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $850,428,000 after purchasing an additional 827,103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on TJX shares. StockNews.com upgraded TJX Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TJX traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $121.11. 1,550,644 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,287,448. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. TJX Companies has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $128.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that TJX Companies will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.29%.

About TJX Companies

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.