Target (TGT) ended the recent trading session at $113.23, demonstrating a -1.98% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.33% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.1%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.59%.
Shares of the retailer witnessed a gain of 8.84% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Retail-Wholesale sector with its loss of 3.93%, and the S&P 500's loss of 0%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Target in its forthcoming earnings report. In that report, analysts expect Target to post earnings of $2.17 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 9.96%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $30.54 billion, down 1.22% from the year-ago period.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $7.3 per share and a revenue of $104.87 billion, indicating changes of -17.61% and -1.59%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Target. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.15% upward. As of now, Target holds a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
From a valuation perspective, Target is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 14.9. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 27.33.
Investors should also note that TGT has a PEG ratio of 11.82 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Retail - Discount Stores industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.99.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 23, which puts it in the top 10% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
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Target Corporation (TGT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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