NEW YORK, September 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
ACI Association has initiated research coverage on Target
Corp. (NYSE: TGT). Select highlights from the internally
released reports are being made available to the general public
(included below), with access to the entirety of the research
available to new members.
Today, membership is open to readers on a complementary basis at
the following URL:
http://www.aciassociation.com/reports?keyword=TGT
Highlights from our TGT Report include:
- Growth in revenue - On August 19, 2015, Target Corp. announced results
for the three months ended August 01,
2015. Sales grew marginally to $17.4
billion in Q2 2015, up 2.8% from the $17.0 billion sales reported in the year ago
period. Growth in sales reflected a 2.4% increase in comparable
sales combined with sales from new stores, which according to
Target was in line with its expectations, driven primarily by
growth in comparable transactions. Citing research firm Consensus
Metrix, a same day Reuters report informed that Target's same-store
sales for the quarter was above market expectations of 2.2%. Target
informed that comparable sales in signature categories, including
Style, Baby, Kids and Wellness, grew three times faster than the
company average.
- Operational Performance - Consolidated EBIT was
reported at $1.3 billion in Q2 2015,
which suggested an increase of 30.0% from $1.0 billion in Q2 2014. EBITDA margin saw an
expansion of 100 basis points at 10.9% in Q2 2015 from 9.9% in Q2
2014. EBIT margin, on the other hand, expanded by 90 basis points
to 7.7% in Q2 2015 compared to 6.8% in the year-ago period.
Further, gross margin stood at 30.9% in Q2 2015, as against 30.4%
in Q2 2014, reflecting the benefit of annualizing heightened
promotional markdowns in Q2 2014 along with a favorable merchandise
mix in Q2 2015.
- Bottom-line Review - Adjusted diluted earnings
per share (EPS) from continuing operations stood at $1.22 in Q2 2015, compared to $1.01 in Q2 2014, reflecting an annual growth of
20.6%. As per the Reuters report, analysts on average were
expecting the Company to report earnings of $1.11. GAAP EPS from continuing operations, on
the other hand, came at $1.21 in Q2
2015, as against $0.61 in the
corresponding period of the previous year. The Company reported net
earnings of $753 million for Q2 2015
as against net earnings of $234
million in the prior year same period.
- Guidance for Q3 2015 and 2015 - Target informed that it
expects the adjusted EPS to be in $0.79 to $0.89
range, compared to an EPS of $0.79
recorded in the third quarter of the previous year. Further, the
Company expects the full year adjusted EPS to be in the range of
$4.60 to $4.75, as against its
previous guidance of $4.50 to $4.65
range. Meanwhile, analysts on average expect an EPS of $4.62 for 2015, according to Thomson Reuters
I/B/E/S.
To find out how this influences our rating on Target Corp., read
the full report in its entirety here:
http://www.aciassociation.com/reports?keyword=TGT
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