Target (NYSE:TGT) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $127.24, but opened at $120.21. Target shares last traded at $117.9130, with a volume of 5,366,465 shares changing hands.

Target News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Target this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Target beat Wall Street on both earnings and revenue, posting Q1 EPS of $1.71 versus $1.46 expected and revenue of $25.44 billion versus $24.66 billion forecast. Target Corporation Reports First Quarter Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Comparable sales growth was the strongest in four years, suggesting Target’s turnaround efforts, refreshed products, and store improvements are gaining traction with shoppers. Target Reports Strongest Sales Gain in Years
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised FY2026 revenue guidance to $108.5 billion-$109.5 billion, above consensus, which signals confidence in continued top-line improvement. Target Corporation Reports First Quarter Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Target also guided FY2026 EPS to $7.50-$8.50, a range that brackets analyst expectations and leaves some uncertainty about how much margin pressure may offset sales recovery. Target Corporation Reports First Quarter Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are falling because the company flagged cost headwinds, including pressure on margins, which is tempering enthusiasm despite the beat-and-raise quarter. Target tops forecasts but shares fall as retailer flags cost headwinds

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Target from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Target from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Target from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore set a $130.00 price target on Target in a research note on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.93.

Target Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $122.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.05.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.66 billion. Target had a return on equity of 22.25% and a net margin of 3.54%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $240,591.07. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,143 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,038.17. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Target by 10.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,267,577 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $113,702,000 after purchasing an additional 124,371 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Target by 15.4% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 342,487 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,721,000 after buying an additional 45,803 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new stake in Target in the third quarter valued at about $8,694,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Target by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 155,222 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,173,000 after buying an additional 10,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Target by 3.8% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 513,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $46,027,000 after buying an additional 18,777 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

About Target

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.