Target (NYSE:TGT) Trading Up 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)’s stock price shot up 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $90.94 and last traded at $89.32. 2,934,928 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 5,420,221 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on TGT. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group cut their price target on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.57.

Target Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $113.87 and a 200 day moving average of $132.29. The firm has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.56%.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 27,617 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC grew its position in Target by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 9,695 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its stake in Target by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 15,072 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 4,078 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Target in the first quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 18.3% during the first quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 6,956 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by 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.