Target Corp (TGT)

This stumbled badly in Canada which set the stock back. Also, there has been a consumer pullback in the last year. The stock came back with Christmas sales, and things seem to be back to normal. Doesn't think there is anything special about this company, but it is a solid hold and you will do fine. Earnings are growing slowly.

When looking at this, you have to ask yourself if you are there for share price appreciation or for yield. If looking at this for yield, he would look elsewhere. 3.6% dividend is a good yield, but there are others that have a better balance sheet and growth trajectory.

(A Top Pick Jan 3/17. Down 3%.) He had been trying to take advantage of the lower type price realtors. It was cheap, but it got cheaper quickly. He got out of this pretty quickly.

It has struggled. She still owns it but would not recommend it as an entry point. She wants to see more positive reports from the holiday season. They are struggling to move more on line. It would not be her first choice for a retailer. It would have to be AMZN-Q or ULTA-Q, which is an experience, rather than just products.

Retail is a tough business. It looks cheap at 6 times, but it is a classic value trap. They have fallen behind in online retail. Avoid this one here.

This was trying to get through $80, and this sector had some disappointing earnings. It has come back again to levels it has held before at times when it wasn’t working out that well. $70 seems to be that target. This stock has been oversold. (Analysts’ price target is $78.07.)

Retail is very, very tough business. Had owned this at one point, but it had a nice pop and he sold. This would not be a long-term hold. The environment for retail is changing very dramatically because of Amazon (AMZN-Q).

(Top Pick Oct 14/14, Up 24.56%) It got down on the Canadian expansion and subsequent exit. He was a seller in the high $80s.

(Top Pick Sep 24/14, Up 28.03%) Everyone didn’t like it at the time. They restructured and it did quite well. Margins and earnings went up. You are going into a strong season for these retail companies. He will hold it until at least after Christmas.

(A Top Pick Aug 14/14. Up 42.5%.) Had felt this was a restructuring story. Valuation is at the top end of the range, but he still likes it. Wouldn’t aggressively buy it here.

(Top Pick July 8/14, Up 45.86%) Foreign exchange is part of it. He invested when he knew Canada would not do well. They are taking market share from Wal-Mart. The SU economy is growing by 4%.

(A Top Pick April 29/14. Up 41%.) He had felt that a lot of the bad news was already in the stock. They have done a lot of good things. Getting out of Canada was the right decision for them. Still a great company, but wait for a pullback.

(A Top Pick March 26/14. Up 38.13%.) Part of the reason that he likes this was that he thought all the bad news was already in the stock. They bailed on Canada, cutting head office jobs and doing a lot of things to restructure the company.

He wants more consumer discretionary in his portfolios. This is because energy prices have been coming down and the US consumer has been deleveraging and holding back. If the US$ goes up, that means cheap goods. Likes their new CEO. His model price is $64.30, a 6% upside. He would love to see it pull back more, maybe to $55. Yield of 3.4%.

It was hit by a data breach and the Canadian expansion. They executed very poorly in Canada and that hurt them. They came out with a bunch of things they want to do and if they execute well the stock will go higher. Their online business is doing quite well.