12:45 PM EST, 03/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We raise our 12-month target to $171 from $144, 18x our FY 25 (Jan.) EPS of $9.52 (lowered from $9.60; we initiate FY 26 at $10.40). FQ4 (Jan-Q) EPS of $2.98 (+58% Y/Y) beat the $2.41 consensus. Traffic improved sequentially (-1.7% vs. -4.1% in FQ3 and -4.8% in FQ2), although the average ticket was under some pressure (-2.8% vs. -0.8% in FQ3 and -0.7% in FQ2). Operating margins were 5.8% in the quarter and 5.3% for the full year. While TGT should see further operating margin expansion in FY 25, we believe it will still be below its historical 6%-7% range. FQ1 comp sales are expected to be soft (down about 3%-5%), but then return to positive growth for the remaining three quarters. TGT announced a new paid membership program (Target Circle 360; $49/year promo price, then $99/year), which will compete with Amazon Prime ($139/year), Walmart+ ($98/year), and Kroger Boost (as low as $59/year). We keep a Hold rating, as we believe the shares are fairly priced following the recent outperformance.