Target tumbles 13% after missing on earnings and guidance (TGT)

pulse

February 28, 2017 3:16 PM

Shares of Target are at their lowest level since December 2014.

Black Friday last year at a Target in Orem, Utah.

Shares of Target were down 13.5% ahead of the opening bell on Tuesday after the big-box retailer missed on earnings and guidance.

The company said it earned an adjusted $1.45 a share on revenue of $20.69 billion. While the adjusted EPS was shy of the $1.51 that was expected by the Wall Street consensus, revenue was in line.

"Our fourth-quarter results reflect the impact of rapidly changing consumer behavior, which drove very strong digital growth but unexpected softness in our stores," Brian Cornell, the chairman and CEO of Target, said in a statement accompanying the results.

As for comparable sales, Target reported a drop of 1.5%, a steeper drop than the Wall Street estimate of 1.3%. Target says it sees comparable sales declining by low single digits for the full year.

Additionally, guidance accompanying the report was light, with the company saying it expected first-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.80 to $1.00, which was well below the $1.33 that had been expected. For the full year, its adjusted EPS guidance of $3.80 to $4.20 missed the $5.34 that analysts were anticipating.

Tuesday's selling has shares of Target at their lowest level since late 2014.

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