Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Stock Has Average Target Price of $159.52 According to Analysts

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-two research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eighteen have given a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $159.52.

A number of brokerages have commented on TGT. Robert W. Baird set a $170.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Target from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Target from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, August 20th.

Target Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $155.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.98. Target has a 52-week low of $83.44 and a 52-week high of $170.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $156.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $1.76. Target had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The company had revenue of $26.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Target will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Target’s payout ratio is 48.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Melissa Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total transaction of $2,634,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 56,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,684,490.76. This trade represents a 21.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Matthew Liegel sold 926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $151,410.26. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,005,613.66. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TGT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,054,604,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $831,466,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $320,006,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Target by 6,639.1% in the 4th quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,912,963 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $186,992,000 after buying an additional 1,884,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Target during the 2nd quarter valued at $224,238,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Target

Target Corporation is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer that operates stores and digital shopping channels under the Target brand. The company sells a broad assortment of products, including apparel and accessories, beauty and personal care items, home furnishings, electronics, groceries, toys, seasonal merchandise and everyday essentials.

Target offers private-label brands alongside national brands and provides services such as Order Pickup, Drive Up and same-day delivery through Shipt.