BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price lowered by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $160.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the retailer’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential downside of 4.01% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.13.

Target Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.69. 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.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Target by 8.3% during the third 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 during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 9,940.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after buying an additional 1,981,458 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Target during the 1st quarter valued at $335,870,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Target by 173.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by 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.