The TJX Companies, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.38 (NYSE:TJX)

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, December 9th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a dividend of 0.375 per share by the apparel and home fashions retailer on Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%.

TJX Companies has increased its dividend by an average of 77.8% per year over the last three years. TJX Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 32.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect TJX Companies to earn $4.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.0%.

TJX Companies Price Performance

TJX stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $126.20. The stock had a trading volume of 2,863,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,226,009. TJX Companies has a 52-week low of $88.58 and a 52-week high of $128.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.40. The company has a market cap of $141.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.90.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.95 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. TJX Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that TJX Companies will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital upped their target price on TJX Companies from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $138.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $134.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.89.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.54, for a total value of $1,763,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 536,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,018,835.92. This trade represents a 2.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Company Profile

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.