Target (NYSE:TGT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.39 EPS

Target (NYSE:TGT) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39, RTT News reports. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Target Stock Up 1.1 %

TGT stock traded up $1.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $158.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,159,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,059,469. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Target has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TGT. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “inline” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Target from $165.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Target in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.52.

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.