Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.12

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 12th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of 1.12 per share by the retailer on Sunday, June 1st. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%.

Target has increased its dividend by an average of 12.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 54 consecutive years. Target has a dividend payout ratio of 45.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Target to earn $9.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.1%.

Target Price Performance

TGT traded down $3.82 on Wednesday, reaching $108.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,954,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,993,199. 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 market capitalization of $49.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target has a fifty-two week low of $109.11 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $131.18 and a 200-day moving average of $140.74.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Target from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Target from $134.00 to $124.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.87.

Institutional Trading of Target

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Target stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 101.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.