Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Rating Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Target (NYSE:TGT) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

TGT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Target from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Target from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $154.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.33.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $151.81 on Monday. Target has a 52-week low of $83.44 and a 52-week high of $170.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $157.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.27.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $1.76. The company had revenue of $26.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.13 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. Analysts forecast that Target will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $151,410.26. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,266 shares in the company, valued at $2,005,613.66. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total value of $2,634,380.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 56,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,684,490.76. This represents a 21.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TGT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,054,604,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at $831,466,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Target by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,413,840 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,091,000 after purchasing an additional 411,608 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Target by 1.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,575,880 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $597,656,000 after buying an additional 82,268 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Target by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,514,522 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $589,642,000 after acquiring an additional 514,155 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer that operates stores and digital shopping channels under the Target brand. The company sells a broad assortment of products, including apparel and accessories, beauty and personal care items, home furnishings, electronics, groceries, toys, seasonal merchandise and everyday essentials.

Target offers private-label brands alongside national brands and provides services such as Order Pickup, Drive Up and same-day delivery through Shipt.