Target (NYSE:TGT) Trading 0.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)’s share price was up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $131.77 and last traded at $131.26. Approximately 791,647 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 4,543,121 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm cut their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Guggenheim cut their target price on Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.57.

Target Stock Up 0.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $60.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.54.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced 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). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 9,940.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,458 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Target by 173.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,200 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 711.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,762,000 after purchasing an additional 768,479 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.