Target (NYSE:TGT) Given New $181.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price objective decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $191.00 to $181.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on TGT. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Target from $160.00 to $153.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an outperform rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Gordon Haskett upped their price objective on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Target from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $180.41.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $145.23 on Thursday. Target has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $67.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $164.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.13.

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). The business had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 148.6% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 174 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.