Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $137.00 to $145.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the retailer’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential upside of 6.75% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.57.

Target Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Target stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $135.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,639,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,527,145. The business has a fifty day moving average of $145.97 and a 200 day moving average of $147.52. Target has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $62.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.17.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Target’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Target will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Target by 11.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after buying an additional 130,691 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Target by 6.8% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.