Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT)

Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio

The P/E ratio exhibited a generally downward trend from early 2021 through mid-2025. Initially, values fluctuated between approximately 17 and 27, peaking around late 2021 and early 2022. Following this peak, the ratio steadily declined, reaching a low near 10 by mid-2025. This pattern suggests that the market's valuation of earnings became more conservative over this period, possibly reflecting changing investor expectations or earnings growth dynamics.

Price to Operating Profit (P/OP) Ratio

Similar to the P/E ratio, the P/OP ratio showed an increase reaching its highest point in late 2021 to early 2022, with ratios close to 19.5. Subsequently, a downward movement occurred, reducing the ratio to below 8 by mid-2025. This indicates a compression in valuation relative to operating profit, possibly due to shifts in profitability, operational efficiency, or investor sentiment.

Price to Sales (P/S) Ratio

The P/S ratio experienced more variability throughout the timeframe. From mid-2019, it increased gradually, peaking around late 2020 and early 2021, with values near or above 1.0. Following this peak, the ratio declined steadily over subsequent years, falling below 0.5 by mid-2025. This downward trend points to a reduction in market valuation relative to sales, which may reflect either challenges in revenue growth or changing market valuation norms for sales revenue.

Price to Book Value (P/BV) Ratio

The P/BV ratio showed an upward trajectory from 2019 through late 2021, rising from approximately 3.7 to near 8.6, indicating heightened investor valuation against the company's book value. However, from 2022 onward, the ratio reversed course, declining consistently to values below 3 by mid-2025. This significant decrease could suggest a reevaluation of asset-related valuations by the market or changes in book value components.

Share Price Trends

The share price experienced notable fluctuations over the analyzed periods. Starting at $80.45 in May 2019, it rose significantly, peaking near $249.18 in July 2021. Following this peak, the price showed a downward trajectory with intermittent recoveries, declining to around $95.98 by August 2025. This represents a substantial increase followed by a marked decrease, highlighting volatility in market valuation over the timeframe.

Earnings Per Share (EPS) Patterns

EPS data, available from February 2020 onwards, indicates an overall upward movement in early periods, reaching a maximum of approximately $15.02 in April 2022. Post this high, EPS declined steadily to a low near $5.9 by July 2023, before fluctuating moderately in subsequent quarters. This suggests an initial phase of earnings growth followed by a period of contraction and relative stabilization.

Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio Analysis

The P/E ratio started at around 16.12 in February 2020 and saw variation, increasing to a peak of 27.08 by October 2022. After this peak, the ratio declined consistently to about 10.21 by August 2025. The early rise corresponds with increases in share price and EPS, while the later decline suggests a reduction in market valuation relative to earnings or increased earnings with declining price.

Integrated Insights

Overall, the data reveals a growth phase in both share price and earnings up to mid-2021 to early 2022, followed by a period of correction and adjustment. The share price’s decline lagged somewhat behind EPS decreases but eventually aligned with earnings softness. The varying P/E ratio indicates changing investor sentiment and market conditions, with the earlier expansion reflecting optimism and later contraction indicating caution or decreased growth expectations. The company’s valuation dynamics appear influenced by both operational performance and broader market factors during these periods.

The data presents the quarterly evolution of key financial metrics, specifically share price, operating profit per share, and the price-to-operating profit ratio over a period extending from May 2019 to August 2025.

Share Price

The share price experienced an initial ascending trend from approximately $80.45 in May 2019, reaching a peak near $249.18 by July 2021. Following this high, there was a notable decline, with prices falling to around $94.01 by May 2025. Some recovery attempts were visible toward the end of the series with minor fluctuations, but the general direction remained downward after mid-2021.

Operating Profit Per Share

Operating profit per share data begins from February 2020 and shows a positive growth trajectory, rising from $9.3 to a peak of $19.35 around April 2022. After this peak, the operating profit per share gradually decreased, declining to levels near $11.94 by August 2025. The trend indicates initial robust earnings improvement followed by a moderation or erosion in operating profitability.

Price-to-Operating Profit Ratio (P/OP)

The P/OP ratio, which measures the relative valuation of the share price compared to operating profit, demonstrates volatility over the periods. Starting near 11.35 in early 2020, it climbed to around 15-16 through late 2020 and early 2021. It then declined to lower levels near 7.44 by August 2025. This ratio's fluctuations reflect changes in market valuation relative to operating profit, with a tendency towards undervaluation in the latter periods compared to earlier peaks.

Overall, the data reveals a strong growth phase in both share price and operating profit per share up to mid-2021 and early 2022, followed by a gradual decline in both metrics thereafter. Meanwhile, the valuation multiple experienced a downward adjustment, indicating market recalibration in response to altered earnings expectations or external factors influencing investor sentiment.

The analysis of the financial data reveals several clear patterns and fluctuations over the examined periods. The share price displayed strong growth initially, increasing from $80.45 in May 2019 to a peak of $249.18 by July 2021. Following this peak, the share price entered a downward trend, declining steadily to $95.98 by August 2025. This indicates a significant decline in market valuation after a period of rapid appreciation.

Sales per share, starting to be reported in February 2020 at $155.92, demonstrated a consistent upward trajectory through the subsequent periods, increasing from $155.92 to a peak of $237.03 by January 2023. After peaking, the sales per share values plateaued and slightly declined, stabilizing around the low $230s range through to the later periods.

The Price-to-Sales (P/S) ratio initially increased alongside the share price, rising from 0.68 in February 2020 to a high of 1.21 by October 2021, indicating that the market valuation grew disproportionately relative to sales. However, this ratio began a pronounced decline after October 2021, dropping below 0.7 by April 2022 and falling further to around 0.4 by August 2025. This suggests that the share price decline outpaced the sales performance deterioration, possibly reflecting changing market sentiment or expectations around future growth.

Share Price Trend

Strong growth from May 2019 to mid-2021 followed by a consistent decline through 2025.

Sales per Share Trend

Steady growth from early 2020, peaking in early 2023, then stabilizing and slightly decreasing thereafter.

Price-to-Sales Ratio Trend

Increase in valuation multiples up to late 2021, followed by a continuous and marked decrease through mid-2025, falling below historic levels.

Overall Insight

The data suggest that the company experienced a phase of positive market performance supported by improving sales until early 2023. The subsequent decline in share price and P/S ratio, despite relatively stable sales, may indicate diminished investor confidence or anticipated challenges ahead. The divergence between stable sales per share and declining valuation multiples warrants further investigation into external factors or internal developments affecting market perception.

The financial data exhibits specific patterns and trends in the share price, book value per share (BVPS), and price-to-book value (P/BV) ratio over multiple quarterly periods.

Share Price (US$)

The share price showed a generally upward trend from May 2019 through July 2021, increasing from about 80.45 to a peak around 249.18. This growth phase was marked by some volatility, with certain declines evident in early 2020 and early 2022. After peaking in mid-2021, the share price declined steadily through early 2024, dropping to around 94.01 in May 2024 before a slight recovery to approximately 95.98 in August 2024. The data indicates a sharp rise followed by a protracted period of depreciation in share value.

Book Value per Share (BVPS) (US$)

The BVPS exhibited a relatively stable and consistent upward trend over the entire period. Starting from approximately 21.7 in May 2019, it steadily rose to 33.93 by August 2025. There were minor fluctuations, such as a slight dip around mid-2020 and early 2022, but the general trajectory was positive, indicating gradual growth in the company's net asset value per share.

Price-to-Book Value (P/BV) Ratio

The P/BV ratio displayed a cyclical pattern aligned with the movement in both share price and BVPS. Initially, the ratio increased significantly from 3.71 in May 2019 to a high near 8.63 by October 2021, reflecting a faster growth in share price relative to book value. After peaking, the ratio consistently declined to about 2.83 by August 2025. This reduction is mainly due to the declining share price outpacing the steady increase in BVPS, suggesting a relative decrease in market valuation compared to the company's book value over time.

In summary, the data points to initial market optimism and share price appreciation through mid-2021, accompanied by steady growth in intrinsic value as measured by book value per share. Following this period, the market valuation compressed significantly as share prices decreased, albeit against a backdrop of continuous growth in the company’s book value.