Target (NYSE:TGT) Given New $160.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Bank of America from $195.00 to $160.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 29.49% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on TGT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.90.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT traded up $1.84 during trading on Thursday, reaching $123.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,208,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,241,623. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $152.33 and a 200 day moving average of $150.12. Target has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. Target’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Target will post 9.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Target

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Target by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 352 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 1st quarter worth $245,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 303,593 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,799,000 after purchasing an additional 17,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 84,656 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,002,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370 shares in the last quarter. 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.