Target (NYSE:TGT) Announces Earnings Results

Target (NYSE:TGT) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45), RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $125.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $151.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.69. Target has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $57.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $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 valued at $8,290,995. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TGT. UBS Group upped their target price on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.13.

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.