Target (TGT) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Target (NYSE:TGT) is set to release its earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, November 20th. Analysts expect Target to post earnings of $2.28 per share for the quarter. Individual interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Target to post $10 EPS for the current fiscal year and $11 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $156.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $152.68 and a 200-day moving average of $150.33. Target has a twelve month low of $128.37 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $72.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.24.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.47.

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.