Target (NYSE:TGT) shares plunged more than 13% on Wednesday after the company reported its Q3 results, with EPS coming in at $1.54, worse than the Street estimate of $2.16. Revenue was $26.5 billion, compared to the Street estimate of $26.39 billion.
Given softening sales and profit trends emerged late in Q3, management expects a low-single-digit decline in comparable sales and around a 3% operating margin rate for Q4.
According to the analysts at RBC Capital, revised guidance implies EPS around $5.50 for the year (vs. the previous Street estimate of $8.00). Taking into account the new operating margin estimate, the analysts believe the company is temporarily underearning, but macro uncertainty has made it difficult to plot the path back to normalization. Following Wednesday’s shares sell-off, the analysts feel shares appropriately reflect downside risk. They lowered the price target to $206 from $223 while maintaining their Outperform rating.