TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) Upgraded to “Buy” at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $110.00 price target on the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock, up from their prior price target of $100.00.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $102.65.

TJX Companies Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:TJX opened at $96.42 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $109.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. TJX Companies has a fifty-two week low of $75.65 and a fifty-two week high of $102.84.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that TJX Companies will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TJX Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TJX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,206,766 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $9,025,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071,078 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 13.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,008,484 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $4,622,514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,036,764 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 1.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,752,978 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,200,045,000 after purchasing an additional 371,163 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,219,312 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,333,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,148 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 2.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,734,141 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,220,690,000 after purchasing an additional 313,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

About TJX Companies

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.