Target (NYSE:TGT) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $134.53, but opened at $128.52. Target shares last traded at $129.98, with a volume of 2,430,555 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.23.

Target Stock Up 0.3 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $136.45 and its 200-day moving average is $145.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $61.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Target by 175.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Target by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 257 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.