Target (TGT) closed the most recent trading day at $87.31, moving -0.35% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500’s daily loss of 0.44%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.53%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.26%.
Heading into today, shares of the retailer had gained 10.99% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector’s gain of 4.67% and the S&P 500’s gain of 3.59% in that time.
TGT will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be November 21, 2018. In that report, analysts expect TGT to post earnings of $1.10 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 20.88%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $17.75 billion, up 6.5% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.37 per share and revenue of $75.13 billion. These totals would mark changes of +14.01% and +4.52%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for TGT should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company’s business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.74% higher within the past month. TGT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that TGT has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.31 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 22.19.
Meanwhile, TGT’s PEG ratio is currently 2.42. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company’s expected earnings growth rate. Retail – Discount Stores stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.81 based on yesterday’s closing prices.
The Retail – Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 44, which puts it in the top 17% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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