Target (NYSE:TGT) Releases Q4 Earnings Guidance

Target (NYSE:TGT) issued an update on its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.85-2.45 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.65. Target also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 8.300-8.900 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HSBC downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.13.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $121.66 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $151.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. Target has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Target will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value 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 represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Corporate insiders own 0.15% 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.