Target Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.12 (NYSE:TGT)

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 18th,Zacks Dividends reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of 1.12 per share by the retailer on Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th.

Target has raised its dividend payment by an average of 17.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 54 years. Target has a payout ratio of 42.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Target to earn $10.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.4%.

Target Stock Down 0.9 %

Target stock opened at $152.13 on Monday. Target has a 1-year low of $127.19 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $152.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Target will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on TGT. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.47.

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.