Target has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from 34 research firms: four have rated the stock as a sell, 20 as a hold and ten as a buy. The average 12-month price objective stands at $103.03. Recent analyst actions include Zacks Research upgrading from strong sell to hold on December 3; BMO Capital Markets reducing its target from $95 to $90 on November 20 while assigning a market-perform rating; Wolfe Research reiterating an underperform rating with an $81 objective on December 30; Bank of America lowering its target from $93 to $80 on November 20 alongside an underperform rating; and DA Davidson setting a $120 target on January 12.

In the third quarter, Target reported earnings per share of $1.78, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. Quarterly revenue totaled $25.27 billion, slightly below the $25.44 billion analysts expected and representing a 1.6% decline year-over-year. The company generated a net margin of 3.58% and delivered a return on equity of 22.74%. Management has set full-year guidance of $7.00 to $8.00 in earnings per share for fiscal 2025, while the average analyst estimate for the year stands at $8.69.

Several institutional investors adjusted their positions during the past two quarters. WFA of San Diego LLC initiated a stake valued at $25,000 in Q2. Raleigh Capital Management increased its holding by 63.4%, acquiring an additional 102 shares to reach 263 shares valued at $26,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors and Investment Research & Advisory each opened new stakes worth approximately $27,000 and $29,000 respectively. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates expanded its position by 192%, adding 192 shares to total 292 shares valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutions now own 79.73% of outstanding shares.

Target has appointed John Hoke III, former chief innovation officer at Nike, to its Governance & Sustainability and Compensation & Human Capital Management committees effective March 1. Steve Bratspies, ex-CEO of HanesBrands, will join the Audit & Risk and Infrastructure & Finance committees on April 1. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.14 per share, payable March 1 to shareholders of record at the close on February 11, with the same date as the ex-dividend. This equates to an annualized dividend of $4.56 and a yield of 4.3%, with a payout ratio of 55.34%.