Brokerages Set Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Price Target at $157.70

Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the thirty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $157.70.

TGT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after buying an additional 130,691 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Target by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $518,089,000 after buying an additional 234,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $517,620,000 after buying an additional 62,916 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $132.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $60.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. Target has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $135.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.67.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. Research analysts predict that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

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.