Target (NYSE:TGT) Given New $145.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price lowered by Guggenheim from $180.00 to $145.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on TGT. Citigroup downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $188.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.13.

Target Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of TGT opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Target has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $57.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $151.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.54.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Target will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 5.6% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,684 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 11,760 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,833,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $326,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of Target by 234.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,237 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 8,140 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.