Target

Target (TGT) is expected to have lower comparable sales in Q2, but are still expected to rise, BofA Securities said in a note Thursday. Target is expected to have lower Q2 comparable sales, making the brokerage lower its Q2 sales projection to a 1% increase compared to previous estimate of 3% increase. This is due to “continued softness in discretionary categories (most notably home & hardlines), and softening trends in frequency categories.” However, that means Target is expected to deliver sales results within its guidance of flat to 2% increase. The company recently announced a new pricing strategy with rewards programs and owned products focused on entry-level price points that will help in increase traffic and market share. BofA’s forecast for fiscal year 2025 EPS is unchanged at $9.45 given Q1 performance that surpassed its estimates.. BofA reiterated a price objective of $190 for Target with buy rating.

Yesterday, Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) reported its first-quarter FY24 earnings and the following are the comments on the same by different analysts. BMO Capital – Reiterates Market Perform, lowers price target from $170.00 to $155.00 Analyst Kelly Bania said that while Target’s first-quarter results were in line with her expectations, investor expectations for continued GM% upside were clearly reigned in. With signs of share losses widening in food & consumables, continued weakness in digital growth and signs of increasing same-day competition from Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), the analyst lowered the price target to $155. The analyst believes 6% EBIT margins remain the target, but the pace of achieving the target could take longer than expected. RBC Capital Markets – Reiterated Outperform, lowers price target from $191.00 to $181.00 Analyst Steven Shemesh opined that with the majority of the easy gross margin wins in the rearview, the focus will shift back to demand trends /market

Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) shares are trading lower after the company reported a lower-than-expected first-quarter FY24 adjusted EPS. The company reported a first-quarter FY24 sales decline of 3.1% year-on-year to $24.531 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $24.521 billion. Comparable sales declined 3.7% in the first quarter, reflecting comparable store sales declines of 4.8% partially offset by a comparable digital sales increase of 1.4%. Gross margin for the quarter expanded by 140 basis points to 27.7%, reflecting the net impact of merchandising activities, including cost improvements that more than offset higher promotional markdown rates, combined with favorable category mix and lower book to physical inventory adjustments. Operating income margin rate of 5.3% was 10 basis points higher than last year, and the operating income for the quarter fell 2.4% to $1.3 billion. The company held $3.6 billion in cash and equivalents as of May 4. Operating cash flow for three months

By Tomi Kilgore Retailer’s stock heads for lowest close in nearly 3 months ahead of earnings release Shares of Target Corp. continued their slide Tuesday, as investors appeared to express concern that the retail giant’s recent announcement about price cuts is an indication that the latest quarter’s sales and margins may disappoint. The stock (TGT) shed 1% in midday trading, putting it on track to close at the lowest price seen since March 4. That followed a 2.1% drop on Monday, in the wake of Target’s announcement that it was cutting prices on 5,000 “frequently shopped” items. The timing of the price-cut announcement – coming two days before Target reports fiscal first-quarter results – appeared to worry investors that the company needed to boost sales at the expense of profits. In the fourth quarter, Target beat profit expectations by a wide margin, as lower markdowns gave a boost to gross

Target (TGT) is lowering prices to attract customers, “which should be a long-term positive,” UBS Securities said in a note emailed Tuesday. “Target is in the process of lowering prices on 5,000 frequently shopped items shows that the retailer is working to improve its sales trends,” UBS said, calling these initiatives indicative of the company’s strong position rather than any weakness. It is probable that Target has been enjoying healthy increases in profit margins, allowing it to allocate resources back into the business. “This is from areas like improved shrink, better markdown management, enhanced supply chain operations and other efficiencies,” UBS said. With this move, Target will show that it can still generate comp sales and margin growth despite lowering these prices. Its EPS range is expected to remain between $8.60 to $9.60, with Target likely raising the lower end of the range, UBS added. UBS has a buy rating

Target’s planned price cuts on frequently shopped items directly touch many goods that have cost more due to prolonged inflation. The retailer says lower prices will be seen on items ranging from milk, meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, snacks, pet food and more. The latest CPI data shows the price of chicken rising 0.7% and beef and veal climbing 7% in April over the past year. But, pets and pet products declined 0.5%, and snacks fell 1.3% in April over the past year. Target says it will lower prices on about 5,000 frequently shopped items and has just reduced prices on about 1,500 items, with thousands more price cuts planned to take place over the summer months.

Target will lower prices on 5,000 frequently shopped items, a move that may keep consumers from spending at other retailers with value offerings such as Walmart. Target says it’s cutting prices on items ranging from milk, meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, snacks, pet food and more. The move comes as Walmart’s latest results last week showed rising sales as shoppers kept spending on inexpensive everyday necessities, while also gaining market share with higher-income households particularly in the grocery category. Walmart CFO John David Rainey told WSJ the company is benefiting from an economic environment where people are looking for value.

By Ciara Linnane Shoppers can expect more bargains for July 4 and the back-to-school and back-to-college seasons Target Corp. announced lower prices on about 5,000 frequently shopped items on Monday, with plans to cut the the price of thousand more items over the course of the summer. The retailer is competing with its bigger competitor Walmart Inc. (WMT) on price at a time when Americans are struggling with inflationary pressures that has raised the price of food, housing and other essentials. “We know consumers are feeling pressured to make the most of their budget, and Target (TGT) is here to help them save more,” said Rick Gomez, executive vice president and chief food, essentials and beauty officer, at Target. The retailer has already cut the price of about 1,500 items heading into the Memorial Day holiday weekend and said shoppers can expect more bargains for July 4 and the back-to-school

TGT will report FQ1 2025 results on May 22. Sales will likely remain pressured (we forecast -3.3% comp sales) before returning to low-single-digit growth in FQ2 2025, as comps will get much easier due to the lapping of the prior year’s Pride merchandise backlash. While sales upside will likely be limited by continued discretionary spending weakness, we are positive on TGT’s recent efforts to refresh merchandise and introduce more value, including new private label brands (e.g., Dealworthy, Figmint). TGT’s new membership program (Target Circle 360), which was launched on April 7, provides a new revenue stream and should drive incremental wallet share by leveraging Target Circle’s over 100M members. We see gross margin expansion from favorable freight, lower markdowns (inventory was -12% Y/Y in FQ4), and stabilizing shrink, but operating margin expansion will likely be limited due to sales deleveraging and higher wages. It is unlikely that TGT will return

Target’s (TGT) discretionary offerings could take a hit from recent headwinds, impacting its Q1 financial results, Oppenheimer said in a note Wednesday. The retailer is scheduled to report Q1 results on May 22. Oppenheimer said it is now “more conservatively” expecting a drop of 4% to 5% in comparable store sales, compared with market expectations for a 3.6% decline. “Our 12-18 month views on TGT shares remain intact driven by our continued confidence in management’s ability to drive further margin expansion and a return to sustained positive comp growth,” Oppenheimer analysts, including Rupesh Parikh, said in the note. Oppenheimer has an outperform rating on the Target stock, with a $200 price target.

Target (TGT) checks point to discretionary headwinds that could lead to a bigger decline in fiscal first-quarter comparable sales than previously expected, though the retailer remains well-positioned long term, Oppenheimer said in a Wednesday note. The brokerage tempered its comparable sales forecast to reflect a decline of 4% to 5%, compared with a 4% drop previously expected. That’s at the lower end of Target’s internal guidance of 3% to 5% and worse than the consensus view for a 3.6% decline. Target is scheduled to report results for the period on May 22. “Based on our work, we are tempering our views to incorporate recent headwinds that we believe could weigh upon (Target’s) discretionary offerings,” analysts Rupesh Parikh, Erica Eiler and Isabel Andolina said. Recent data points have “turned less robust,” they said. Industry checks have underscored slowing makeup category growth, declining traffic at Starbucks (SBUX) and ongoing challenges in durable

Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe maintains Target (NYSE:TGT) with a Buy and raises the price target from $195 to $205.