Employees Retirement System of Texas Takes $367,000 Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,724 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Target by 28.9% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 937,030 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $92,451,000 after buying an additional 210,060 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Target by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 19,069 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,881,000 after buying an additional 2,174 shares in the last quarter. Farmers National Bank grew its holdings in Target by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 22,497 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,219,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in Target by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 12,618 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Target by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,460 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,485,000 after acquiring an additional 6,762 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of Target stock opened at $89.83 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.66. The stock has a market cap of $40.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.44 and a 12 month high of $145.08.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.44 billion. Target had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 3.72%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-8.000 EPS. Research analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.14 per share. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Target’s payout ratio is 55.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Target from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Target from $93.00 to $80.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Target in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (down from $94.00) on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Target from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.00.

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.