Target (NYSE:TGT) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Target (NYSE:TGT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Target from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Target from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $169.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.52.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $164.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $146.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.68. Target has a 12-month low of $83.44 and a 12-month high of $170.75. The firm has a market cap of $74.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $1.76. The company had revenue of $26.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.13 billion. Target had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 4.08%.Target’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew Liegel sold 926 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $151,410.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,005,613.66. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total value of $2,634,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 56,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,684,490.76. The trade was a 21.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Target during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Target

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.