Target (NYSE:TGT) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on TGT. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.70.

Target Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $124.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $57.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.74.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 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 company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Target will post 8.69 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 47.51%.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $152,000. PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $273,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Target by 97.6% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,939 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 2,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,353,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently 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.