By Dean Seal
Shares of Target jumped after the retailer’s fourth-quarter earnings handily topped analyst forecasts and its guidance came in above estimates as well.
The stock was up 8.5% at $163.30 in premarket trading. Shares had already gained 5.7% year-to-date when the market closed on Monday.
Target said Tuesday morning that fourth-quarter revenue was up 1.7% at $31.92 billion thanks to an extra selling week. Excluding that week, comparable sales fell 4.4%. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting just $31.83 billion and comparable sales to decline 4.5%.
Earnings of $2.98 a share, up from $1.89 a share in the year-ago quarter, topped analyst projections for $2.42 a share, according to FactSet.
The Minneapolis-based company is guiding earnings of $1.70 to $2.10 a share on a 3% to 5% decline in comparable sales in the first quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet are expecting $2.08 a share on a 3.6% drop in comparable sales.
Full-year comparable sales are expected to be flat to up 2%, while earnings are expected to come in at $8.60 to $9.60 a share. Analysts meanwhile are looking for a 0.8% jump in comparable sales and earnings of $9.15 a share, according to FactSet.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com