Target Corporation (TGT.NYSE) AI OPINIONS & ADVISOR ANALYSIS
Read and compare the 14 individual AI Advisor deep-dive reports, including their forecast paths, ratings, price targets, and reasoning.
Updated on 20 September 2026Deep analysis 20 September 2026
Universal Investor AI
The Polymath FrameworkModel rating
Neutral
5-Year Return Est.
+31.7%
Includes 2.04% annual net dividend contribution
1. Investment Thesis — Base Case
The central tension is that Target is getting better while its reported earnings are about to get worse. Fiddelke's programme is working — traffic, digital and the high-margin Roundel/Plus/Circle 360 layer all inflected in 2026 — but the profit line that excited the market contains $1.65 per share of customs refunds that will not repeat. Through 2027 the stock must digest an optical earnings decline against a five-percent ten-year yield. Thereafter, mid-single-digit operating earnings growth resumes, capexcapital expenditureCapital expenditure (CAPEX) is spending on long-lived assets or major improvements expected to support operations over multiple periods.View full glossary entry normalizes and repurchases restart, but the multiple is unlikely to expand for an execution-led franchise without structural moatstructural moatA durable competitive advantage protecting the business from market entrants and pricing pressure.View full glossary entry. Returns become a dividend-plus-modest-growth proposition.
- Ex-refund FY2026 near $8.75 on roughly $110 billion revenue and 5.1% operating marginoperating marginsOperating profit as a percentage of revenue after operating expenses, before interest and taxes.View full glossary entry.
- Fifteen to sixteen times FY2031 near $12.00 implies a share price around $188.
- That equals roughly $86 billion market capitalizationmarket capitalizationThe market value of an asset or company, commonly calculated for a company as share price multiplied by shares outstanding.View full glossary entry on a static 457 million share count.
Historical prices and published forecast
- Observed price
- Published advisor forecast
View chart values
| Series | Date | Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Observed price | 2021-09-17 | 243 |
| Observed price | 2021-10-05 | 227 |
| Observed price | 2021-10-13 | 241 |
| Observed price | 2021-11-04 | 260 |
| Observed price | 2021-11-13 | 259 |
| Observed price | 2021-11-30 | 241 |
| Observed price | 2021-12-04 | 242 |
| Observed price | 2021-12-22 | 218 |
| Observed price | 2021-12-30 | 231 |
| Observed price | 2022-01-21 | 222 |
| Observed price | 2022-01-30 | 216 |
| Observed price | 2022-02-16 | 205 |
| Observed price | 2022-02-25 | 194 |
| Observed price | 2022-03-05 | 216 |
| Observed price | 2022-03-31 | 212 |
| Observed price | 2022-04-09 | 225 |
| Observed price | 2022-04-22 | 246 |
| Observed price | 2022-05-05 | 227 |
| Observed price | 2022-05-14 | 217 |
| Observed price | 2022-05-22 | 151 |
| Observed price | 2022-06-04 | 158 |
| Observed price | 2022-06-17 | 146 |
| Observed price | 2022-06-30 | 143 |
| Observed price | 2022-07-22 | 157 |
| Observed price | 2022-07-26 | 154 |
| Observed price | 2022-08-17 | 174 |
| Observed price | 2022-08-26 | 161 |
| Observed price | 2022-09-12 | 173 |
| Observed price | 2022-09-16 | 163 |
| Observed price | 2022-10-04 | 153 |
| Observed price | 2022-10-12 | 150 |
| Observed price | 2022-10-30 | 166 |
| Observed price | 2022-11-07 | 155 |
| Observed price | 2022-11-29 | 165 |
| Observed price | 2022-12-03 | 160 |
| Observed price | 2022-12-21 | 142 |
| Observed price | 2022-12-29 | 147 |
| Observed price | 2023-01-20 | 162 |
| Observed price | 2023-01-24 | 164 |
| Observed price | 2023-02-02 | 181 |
| Observed price | 2023-02-19 | 168 |
| Observed price | 2023-03-13 | 159 |
| Observed price | 2023-03-22 | 157 |
| Observed price | 2023-04-08 | 168 |
| Observed price | 2023-04-12 | 164 |
| Observed price | 2023-05-04 | 153 |
| Observed price | 2023-05-17 | 160 |
| Observed price | 2023-05-30 | 132 |
| Observed price | 2023-06-12 | 129 |
| Observed price | 2023-06-16 | 134 |
| Observed price | 2023-07-04 | 131 |
| Observed price | 2023-07-21 | 134 |
| Observed price | 2023-07-25 | 135 |
| Observed price | 2023-08-12 | 130 |
| Observed price | 2023-08-20 | 126 |
| Observed price | 2023-08-25 | 122 |
| Observed price | 2023-09-15 | 121 |
| Observed price | 2023-10-07 | 106 |
| Observed price | 2023-10-16 | 112 |
| Observed price | 2023-10-20 | 109 |
| Observed price | 2023-11-06 | 111 |
| Observed price | 2023-11-24 | 131 |
| Observed price | 2023-12-02 | 133 |
| Observed price | 2023-12-24 | 140 |
| Observed price | 2023-12-28 | 142 |
| Observed price | 2024-01-19 | 138 |
| Observed price | 2024-02-01 | 140 |
| Observed price | 2024-02-14 | 148 |
| Observed price | 2024-02-18 | 150 |
| Observed price | 2024-03-07 | 172 |
| Observed price | 2024-03-15 | 166 |
| Observed price | 2024-04-02 | 176 |
| Observed price | 2024-04-10 | 171 |
| Observed price | 2024-05-02 | 157 |
| Observed price | 2024-05-11 | 163 |
| Observed price | 2024-05-24 | 145 |
| Observed price | 2024-06-01 | 153 |
| Observed price | 2024-06-19 | 144 |
| Observed price | 2024-07-02 | 145 |
| Observed price | 2024-07-15 | 154 |
| Observed price | 2024-07-28 | 147 |
| Observed price | 2024-08-05 | 135 |
| Observed price | 2024-08-18 | 144 |
| Observed price | 2024-08-27 | 158 |
| Observed price | 2024-09-13 | 152 |
| Observed price | 2024-09-26 | 155 |
| Observed price | 2024-10-14 | 158 |
| Observed price | 2024-10-31 | 149 |
| Observed price | 2024-11-17 | 155 |
| Observed price | 2024-11-22 | 125 |
| Observed price | 2024-12-05 | 131 |
| Observed price | 2024-12-09 | 135 |
| Observed price | 2024-12-31 | 135 |
| Observed price | 2025-01-08 | 141 |
| Observed price | 2025-01-26 | 139 |
| Observed price | 2025-02-12 | 128 |
| Observed price | 2025-02-16 | 128 |
| Observed price | 2025-03-10 | 113 |
| Observed price | 2025-03-27 | 106 |
| Observed price | 2025-04-05 | 91.7 |
| Observed price | 2025-04-09 | 91.0 |
| Observed price | 2025-04-27 | 96.6 |
| Observed price | 2025-05-10 | 97.8 |
| Observed price | 2025-05-23 | 94.3 |
| Observed price | 2025-05-31 | 94.0 |
| Observed price | 2025-06-13 | 97.9 |
| Observed price | 2025-06-26 | 98.4 |
| Observed price | 2025-07-09 | 104 |
| Observed price | 2025-07-22 | 107 |
| Observed price | 2025-07-31 | 101 |
| Observed price | 2025-08-17 | 105 |
| Observed price | 2025-09-08 | 91.1 |
| Observed price | 2025-09-12 | 89.8 |
| Observed price | 2025-09-21 | 86.9 |
| Observed price | 2025-10-13 | 87.3 |
| Observed price | 2025-10-21 | 94.4 |
| Observed price | 2025-11-12 | 91.6 |
| Observed price | 2025-11-21 | 85.5 |
| Observed price | 2025-11-29 | 90.7 |
| Observed price | 2025-12-17 | 97.8 |
| Observed price | 2025-12-25 | 96.8 |
| Observed price | 2026-01-16 | 111 |
| Observed price | 2026-01-25 | 105 |
| Observed price | 2026-02-07 | 115 |
| Observed price | 2026-02-24 | 114 |
| Observed price | 2026-03-05 | 121 |
| Observed price | 2026-03-18 | 115 |
| Observed price | 2026-03-31 | 120 |
| Observed price | 2026-04-08 | 121 |
| Observed price | 2026-04-21 | 130 |
| Observed price | 2026-05-04 | 130 |
| Observed price | 2026-05-13 | 122 |
| Observed price | 2026-06-04 | 123 |
| Observed price | 2026-06-21 | 137 |
| Observed price | 2026-07-04 | 128 |
| Observed price | 2026-07-17 | 140 |
| Observed price | 2026-07-21 | 138 |
| Observed price | 2026-08-12 | 155 |
| Observed price | 2026-08-16 | 151 |
| Observed price | 2026-08-21 | 165 |
| Observed price | 2026-09-16 | 155 |
| Observed price | 2026-09-22 | 159 |
| Observed price | 2026-09-25 | 157 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2026-09-18 | 158 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2026-12-18 | 161 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2027-03-18 | 152 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2027-06-18 | 147 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2027-09-18 | 152 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2027-12-18 | 155 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2028-03-18 | 158 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2028-06-18 | 159 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2028-09-18 | 162 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2028-12-18 | 166 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2029-03-18 | 162 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2029-06-18 | 167 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2029-09-18 | 169 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2029-12-18 | 172 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2030-03-18 | 174 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2030-06-18 | 177 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2030-09-18 | 179 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2030-12-18 | 183 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2031-03-18 | 181 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2031-06-18 | 185 |
| Published advisor forecast | 2031-09-18 | 188 |
2. Scenarios & Signals
Bull case
The bull case activates when the refund lap turns out to be a speed bump rather than a cliff. Ex-refund margin pushes past 5.5% in FY2027 as remodels compound traffic and the non-merchandise layer scales faster than expected; capital expenditureCapital expenditure (CAPEX) is spending on long-lived assets or major improvements expected to support operations over multiple periods. normalizes, repurchases restart above $2 billion annually, and the share count finally shrinks. Add an energy settlement reviving the discretionary third of the basket, and both earnings and multiple rise together. That combination delivers materially higher returns than the base path.
Bear case
The bear case activates when the March 2027 guidance reveals reported EPS falling below $9 while comps decelerate under 2%. Investors who bought a doubling off the lows on a 16-times trailing multiple discover they own 18 times clean earnings in a recovery that has stalled. Rising Brent squeezes the low-to-middle income shopper, home and apparel markdowns deepen, and the frozen buyback offers no per-share cushion. The multiple compresses toward 12-13 times and the stock retraces most of 2026's gain.
Current crowd narrative
The consensus trade is "turnaround confirmed, upside spent." Roughly 40 analysts split 13 buy, 24 hold, 3 sell with a $162.58 average target against $158 [21][22] — under 5% implied upside after the stock doubled off its $83.44 low. The anchoring bias is the 16.4x trailing multiple, which the crowd treats as cheap while quietly ignoring that $1.65 of tariff refund sits inside those earnings [1].
Alpha-gap assessment
The crowd modestly overestimates these shares, because it is capitalizing an earnings number management itself disowns. Target's CFOoperating cash flowCash generated or consumed by a company's core business operations.View full glossary entry instructed investors to anchor on adjusted excluding tariff refunds [5]; strip the $1.65 and FY2026 clean is roughly $8.75, putting the stock near 18 times operating reality rather than 16.4. Against a 5.0% ten-year yield and a business Morningstar judges execution-driven rather than moated [12], that is a full price for a recovery already visible in the tape.
Convergence catalyst
The FY2027 guidance issued with fourth-quarter results in March 2027 is the trigger: it will show reported lapping the refund and likely printing flat-to-down. The first observable sign of repricing is sell-side numbers being cut while comps are simultaneously praised.
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