Scott Olson
Target corporation (New York Stock Exchange: TGT) continues to see traction among investors after reporting higher margins for its holiday quarter than a year ago, a relatively clean inventory position and better comparable sales guidance. There was also a 60% increase in operating income compared to the previous year. one of the most notable at Target (TGT) earnings report.
On Wall Street, Deutsche Bank upgraded Target (TGT) to Buy from Hold on Wednesday as it signaled notable improvement in traffic trends and gross margin expansion. The firm also believes the new membership program will benefit Target (TGT), even if it seriously challenges Amazon Prime (AMZN) or Walmart+ (WMT). Target (TGT) also earned an upgrade from HSBC to a Buy rating and a higher price target from UBS. “We believe TGT's fourth quarter results and outlook for 2024 were further evidence that the company's recovery is on track, as seen not only in its continued margin recovery, but also in the sequential improvement of sales (especially in discretionary categories),” said the UBS analyst. Michael Lasser.
Target (TGT) Stock Rises 2.75% at 10:53 a.m. and hit a new 52-week high of $175.49 earlier in the session. Retail stocks are now up more than 65% from their lowest point in the fall, when sentiment was at its lowest. The stock has outperformed Dollar Tree (DLTR), Best Buy (ABY), BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ), and Dollar General (DG) over the past year, but lagged the returns of Costco (COST) and Walmart (WMT) ). Looking Alpha Quant's rating was upgraded to Strong Buy due to Target's (TGT) high factor ratings in terms of profitability and momentum.
