Target (NYSE:TGT) Trading Up 2.9% – Time to Buy?

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)’s stock price shot up 2.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $93.54 and last traded at $93.13. 5,347,533 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 5,598,467 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $142.00 to $101.00 in a report on Wednesday. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-two have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.37.

Target Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $42.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $109.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.28.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Invst LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Target by 142.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,585 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 3,870 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,684,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Target by 331.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 14,387 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,242,000 after purchasing an additional 11,054 shares during 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.