Target (NYSE:TGT) Downgraded by Daiwa Capital Markets to Neutral

Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Daiwa Capital Markets currently has $130.00 price target on the retailer’s stock, down from their prior price target of $170.00.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on TGT. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. HSBC cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.30.

Target Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $126.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $58.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. Target has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.05.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cynosure Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its holdings in Target by 1.2% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in Target by 3.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Target by 20.8% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integral Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Target by 5.3% in the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

About Target

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.