"Is the Wal-Mart (WMT) downgrade by Goldman Sachs 'right?' How about the Target (TGT) upgrade that comes with it? Is it time to desert Wal-Mart for Target because things are better? Because people will now shop at the 'nicer' stores?" "Retail Is a Microcosm of the Broad Market," 6-15-09

The nation's retailers continued to suffer from weak sales in May. But that didn't keep Target , the No. 2 U.S. discount retailer after Wal-Mart , from sweetening its dividend Thursday, albeit by only a penny. Still, the boost is worth some $7.5 million to investors. The 6.3% hike by Target (TGT) takes its quarterly common payout to 17 cents a share. The new dividend is slated for disbursement on Sept. 10 to holders of record Aug. 20. The stock goes ex-dividend Aug. 18. The company, which has been making payouts since its 1967 public debut, has more than three decades of dividend growth under its belt. In addition, Target is working down a $10 billion share-buyback program.

increased its quarterly dividend to 17 cents from 16 cents per common share, a 6% increase, payable on Sept. 10 to shareholders of record Aug. 20.

new store expansion/growth

"Anybody know why Bill Ackman didn't go after Saks (SKS)? Wouldn't that have been a better target? How about Liz Claiborne (LIZ)? Any back-of-the-envelope calculation would have told you that Target (TGT) is one of the few retailers that generated any wealth at all over the last 10 years. It also had one of the most sophisticated and best boards imaginable in part because of the excellent and legendary charity programs that it runs." ("The 10% Pullback Mob," 6-3-09)

"Meanwhile people have decided that the shopping season is back with an amazing move in Target (TGT) -- maybe people are happy that the Pershing plan is not happening!" ("Saftey Last," 6-1-09)

One of the most successful retailers in America, Target is a buy at 41. Ackman's plan to unlock the company's real-estate value may be a sell. While there may be merit in some of Ackman's arguments, Target remains one of the best-run retailers in the country. His proxy fight seems to have a lot to do with ego and has been a major distraction for management at an otherwise challenging time. Indeed, it seems time to buy Target shares, not Ackman's campaign.

The $1.4 billion growth fund, holding 44 companies, is packed with Minnesota names like multinational manufacturer 3M (MMM), food giant General Mills (GIS), medical-device makers Medtronic (MDT) and St. Jude Medical (STJ), discount retailer Target (TGT), industrial-filter producer Donaldson (DCI), nuts-and-bolts distributor Fastenal (FAST), paint-sprayer supplier Graco (GGG), and water-cleaning-equipment firm Pentair (PNR). "The Minneapolis-St. Paul area has one of the highest concentrations of large, multinational industrial and financial companies in the U.S.," Frels observes. "Local surveys claim that Minnesota public companies consistently have outperformed the general stock market, year after year, with the exception of the past two years."

Cramer: Not Buying Gap: Jim Cramer doesn't buy Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy" of the gap and sees better retail names."
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Activist investor William Ackman and the company disagree on the number of directors that should be elected at Target's annual meeting. Ackman argues that a director's resignation in January created a vacancy; the company contends that the resignation simply shrank the number of directors from 13 to 12. Ackman, who is launching a proxy fight to get a five-person slate onto Target's board, suggested that the issue be submitted to binding arbitration. Pershing Square, the hedge fund led by Ackman, holds 58,391,235 shares (7.8%).

been there

too stogy

retail

same reason

Retail

Lost money

HIGH END RETAIL

house of pain

bad end of year

target