Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target Cut to $120.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $160.00 to $120.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on TGT. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Target in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. HSBC downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.13.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $151.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Target will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Target by 8.3% during the third 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. FMR LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after acquiring an additional 130,691 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Target by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after acquiring an additional 279,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Target by 11.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares during the period. 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.