These Congress Members Are Feeling the Heat As Target Sinks
Shares of Target (TGT:US) closed just over 13% lower yesterday after the retailer delivered a weak earnings report and warned that it expects to witness a soft holiday quarter.
Target reported earnings per share of $1.54, much lower than the $2.13 estimated by stock analysts. Profits fell by 50% as the company worked to reduce excess inventory while sales continued to slow down. As a result, Target said it is planning to slash up to $3 billion in costs over the next 3 years.
Adding to this, Target warned that its customers are growing more sensitive to rising prices and especially highlighted its weak performance in the last two weeks of October.
“As we look ahead, we expect the challenging environment to linger beyond the holiday season and into 2023,” Target’s Chief Financial Officer Michael Fiddelke said in a statement.
Yesterday’s drop in Target stock erased all gains from the last week. TGT, which is a popular stock for many investors given the stability it offers, now trades over 30% down year-to-date (YTD).
Target stock is also popular amongst members of the U.S. Congress. Representative Lois Frankel, a Floridian Democrat, was buying Target shares in August and September. The average price of three transactions she made in Target is around $165 per share, around $10 above the current Target stock price.
Congressman from California, Ro Khanna, is another Representative who was buying TGT shares this year. He reported five transactions in total where he increased his stake in the retailer.
His latest trade occurred on September 6, when Congressman Khanna bought between $1,000 - $15,000 worth of Target. Stock price closed at $163.58 that day. The other three buy trades Mr. Khanna completed earlier this year were all above $200 for each Target share.
It is also worth mentioning that Republican Carol Miller bought between $15,000 - $50,000 worth of Target shares in August when the stock price closed at $166.97.
