BMO Capital Markets Lowers Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target to $155.00

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price cut by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $170.00 to $155.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the retailer’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.04% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on TGT. Gordon Haskett boosted their target price on Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Target from $178.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.77.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $143.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,358,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,794,259. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $165.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.38. The company has a market capitalization of $66.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.16. Target has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $759,810,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 15,009.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $250,244,000 after buying an additional 1,745,459 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 37,301.2% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $187,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,222 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Target by 26.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $747,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 51,357.7% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $173,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218,204 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Company Profile

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.