Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Rating Lowered by HSBC

Target (NYSE:TGT) was downgraded by research analysts at HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $138.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock. HSBC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.43% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Daiwa America raised shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.13.

Target Trading Down 0.0 %

Target stock opened at $121.66 on Wednesday. Target has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $56.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $151.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Target will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last three months. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 9,940.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after buying an additional 1,981,458 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Target in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Target by 173.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Target

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.