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Target (TGT) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why

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Target (TGT - Free Report) closed at $147.60 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.75% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.07%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.14%.

The retailer's stock has climbed by 0.13% in the past month, falling short of the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 2.94% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.34%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Target in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $2.17, signifying a 20.56% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $25.2 billion, up 1.74% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.32 per share and revenue of $106.88 billion, which would represent changes of +4.25% and -0.5%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Target. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Target currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Target is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 15.96. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 21.32.

Also, we should mention that TGT has a PEG ratio of 1.4. 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. The Retail - Discount Stores was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.56 at yesterday's closing price.

The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 164, which puts it in the bottom 35% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained 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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