Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Short Interest Update

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,900,000 shares, an increase of 23.6% from the June 30th total of 8,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,960,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Gordon Haskett increased their target price on Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Target from $191.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.57.

Target Stock Up 0.4 %

TGT traded up $0.57 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $147.39. 209,430 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,815,900. The stock has a market cap of $68.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.19. Target has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.51.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Target will post 9.31 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.38%.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Target by 3.6% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 55,129 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,161,000 after buying an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the second quarter worth about $4,159,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Target by 60.4% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 306,606 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $45,390,000 after buying an additional 115,485 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target by 25.2% in the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 71,531 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,590,000 after purchasing an additional 14,408 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 902,802 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $133,651,000 after purchasing an additional 5,607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.