Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target Lowered to $120.00 at BMO Capital Markets

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

TGT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.13.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock traded up $3.51 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $125.10. 4,657,427 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,305,012. Target has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.92.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Target will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Target during the second quarter worth $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Target during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 156.5% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.