Target (NYSE:TGT) Lifted to Strong-Buy at Daiwa America

Target (NYSE:TGT) was upgraded by analysts at Daiwa America to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

TGT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.18.

Target Stock Down 0.1 %

Target stock opened at $158.73 on Monday. Target has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.77.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Target will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $759,810,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at about $335,870,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 15,009.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $250,244,000 after buying an additional 1,745,459 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 51,357.7% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $173,834,000 after buying an additional 1,218,204 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,683,228 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $382,145,000 after buying an additional 984,464 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.