Target (NYSE:TGT) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Target (NYSE:TGT) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17, Zacks reports. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Target updated its FY 2025 guidance to 8.800-9.800 EPS.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $117.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $53.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.09. Target has a 1 year low of $112.53 and a 1 year high of $181.86.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Target stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 101.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,080 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Target from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.43.

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.