TJX Companies Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:TJX)

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 13,386 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 54% compared to the average volume of 8,697 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $134.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.33.

TJX Companies Trading Up 1.7 %

TJX traded up $2.00 on Thursday, reaching $121.11. 1,550,644 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,287,448. The company has a market cap of $136.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. TJX Companies has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $128.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.34.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.95 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that TJX Companies will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TJX Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,556,435 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $5,589,783,000 after buying an additional 469,287 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,857,584 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,795,121,000 after acquiring an additional 363,707 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of TJX Companies by 33.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,241,176 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,347,934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,063,318 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in TJX Companies by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,182,564 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,079,319,000 after purchasing an additional 643,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,271,499 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $837,951,000 after purchasing an additional 657,529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

About TJX Companies

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.