The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $102.19.

A number of equities analysts have commented on TJX shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total value of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zhang Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $213,000. Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new stake in TJX Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $367,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in TJX Companies by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 40,263 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $4,083,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc raised its position in TJX Companies by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 140,813 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $13,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trinity Legacy Partners LLC raised its position in TJX Companies by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 35,201 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $3,570,000 after purchasing an additional 4,435 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

TJX opened at $95.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $97.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.80. TJX Companies has a twelve month low of $75.65 and a twelve month high of $102.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. TJX Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that TJX Companies will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is 34.46%.

TJX Companies Company Profile

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.