Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the thirty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eighteen have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $118.0357.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Target from $102.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Target from $90.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Target from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Target from $63.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $240,591.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,038.17. This represents a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Target by 192.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 292 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE TGT opened at $125.18 on Friday. Target has a 12 month low of $83.44 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.47. The stock has a market cap of $56.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.28. Target had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 22.25%. The company had revenue of $30.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.300- EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Target will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.14 per share. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.09%.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.