Sanford C. Bernstein Raises Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target to $142.00

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price target raised by Sanford C. Bernstein from $139.00 to $142.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Target from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $140.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. Target has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $134.17 and its 200 day moving average is $144.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Target will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cynosure Group LLC grew its position in Target by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in Target by 1.2% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in Target by 3.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in Target by 0.4% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Target by 1.1% during the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.