TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $128.99 and last traded at $126.76, with a volume of 5400281 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $120.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com lowered TJX Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $135.76.

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TJX Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.66. The firm has a market cap of $143.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. The company had revenue of $16.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TJX Companies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 4,987 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC grew its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,338 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 7,696 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,778 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company's stock.

About TJX Companies

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.