The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price target reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $166.00 to $142.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

TGT has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Target from $134.00 to $124.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday. Gordon Haskett lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $148.23.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $116.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.92. The company has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target has a one year low of $112.53 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. Research analysts predict that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 50.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth $757,892,000. State Street Corp raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $297,122,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $536,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,502,200 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by 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.