Target (NYSE:TGT) Hits 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) have recently hit a new 52-week low during trading. This decline occurred after Stifel Nicolaus announced a decrease in their price target for Target's stock from $130.00 to $120.00. Currently, Stifel Nicolaus has assigned a hold rating on Target's shares. During this trading session, Target's stock fell to a low of $101.76 before rebounding slightly to close at $103.29. The trading volume for the day reached 1,332,691 shares, compared to a previous closing price of $104.20.

Over the past few weeks, Target has been reviewed by several analysts. On March 5th, Roth MKM reiterated a "neutral" rating while lowering their price target from $131.00 to $122.00. Guggenheim raised their price target from $145.00 to $155.00, maintaining a "buy" rating on Target as of January 22nd. Additionally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective from $153.00 to $140.00 and kept their "buy" rating on March 5th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Target from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating on February 13th. UBS Group also reduced their price target from $170.00 to $155.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating on the stock during the same time frame. Currently, one analyst has rated Target with a sell rating, seventeen analysts issued hold ratings, while fifteen analysts offered buy ratings. According to MarketBeat, the average recommendation for Target is to hold, with a consensus price target of $145.55.

Institutional Ownership of Target

Recently, several institutional investors have adjusted their holdings in Target. State Street Corp increased its stake in Target by 8.3% during the third quarter, now holding 35,484,252 shares valued at approximately $5.53 billion after an additional purchase of over 2.73 million shares. Similarly, Capital World Investors grew their holdings by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, owning 21,930,569 shares valued at around $2.96 billion after acquiring 1,306,552 more shares. FMR LLC also increased their position by 13.6%, owning 11,338,729 shares now valued at $1.53 billion after purchasing 1,358,348 shares last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised their ownership by 5.0%, totaling 9,885,015 shares valued at approximately $1.33 billion after an additional 470,990 shares were acquired. Lastly, Norges Bank established a new position worth about $757.89 million in the fourth quarter. As of now, institutional investors and hedge funds hold 79.73% of Target's stock.

Target's Financial Performance

Target has a market capitalization of $47.51 billion, along with a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a price/earnings to growth (P/E/G) ratio of 1.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, with a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. As of now, Target's 50-day simple moving average is $125.89, and its 200-day simple moving average stands at $138.13. The retailer released its latest earnings results on March 4th, reporting earnings of $2.41 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target also reported revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, which was slightly above the expected $30.83 billion. The company's return on equity was 31.11%, with a net margin of 4.06%. Analysts predict Target will average earnings per share of 8.69 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement

Target also announced a quarterly dividend recently, scheduled to be paid on June 1st. Stockholders on record as of May 14th will receive a dividend of $1.12, translating to an annualized dividend of $4.48 and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date is set for May 14th, and Target's payout ratio currently stands at 50.56%.

Overview of Target Corporation

Target Corporation is a general merchandise retailer based in the United States. The company provides a wide range of products, including clothing for all ages, accessories, beauty and personal care items, baby products, cleaning supplies, paper goods, and pet supplies.

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