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Target (TGT) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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Target (TGT - Free Report) closed at $85.80 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.42% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 2.15% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 2.17%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 2.89%.

Coming into today, shares of the retailer had lost 3.07% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector lost 9.79%, while the S&P 500 lost 5.16%.

TGT will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be November 21, 2018. On that day, TGT is projected to report earnings of $1.10 per share, which would represent 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.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.38 per share and revenue of $75.13 billion, which would represent changes of +14.23% and +4.52%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for TGT. 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.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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.

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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.17% higher. TGT currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Investors should also note TGT's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 15.72. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 22.54.

Meanwhile, TGT's PEG ratio is currently 2.34. 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. Retail - Discount Stores stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.68 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 29, which puts it in the top 11% 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.

To follow TGT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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