The most recent dividend increase was in June 2015, when the Board of Directors approved a 7.70% increase in the quarterly dividend to 56 cents/share.
The company's largest competitors include Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), Costco (NASDAQ:COST) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Over the past decade this dividend growth stock has delivered an annualized total return of 6.30% to its shareholders. Future returns will be dependent on growth in earnings and dividend yields obtained by shareholders.
The company has managed to deliver a 6.80% average increase in annual EPS over the past decade. Target is expected to earn $5.28 per share in 2017 and $5.80 per share in 2018. In comparison, the company earned $5.25/share for fiscal year 2016.
Between 2005 and 2016, the number of shares outstanding has decreased from 912 million to 633 million. The decrease in shares outstanding through consistent share buybacks adds an extra growth kick to earnings per share over time. I do not like the fact that the net income between 2005 and 2016 only increased from $3.198 billion to $3.321 billion.
Growth for Target could be driven by expansion of number of stores in the US, plus growth in same-store sales. The company is also targeting cost cuts, in order to boost margins. However, I am more interested in increasing the number of stores, in order to increase penetration in the US. Relative to the number of Wal-Mart stores in the US, I still believe there could be areas of new store development for Target, as long as this is executed in a smart way of course. Unfortunately, the number of stores has gone nowhere since 2010. In 2010 there were 1490 Target and 250 SuperTarget stores. In 2016, there are 1535 Target, 249 SuperTarget and 8 CityTarget stores. This is a very low growth in number of stores. On the other hand, revenues increased from $65.347 billion in 2010 to $73.785 billion in 2016, while net income increased from $2.488 billion to $3.321 billion over the same time period.
Despite the issues that Target experienced with its Canadian expansion in 2013-2015, I think that the company has an opportunity to expand internationally. This is a driver which could propel earnings per share forward for the next 20 years. It has to be executed better than the Canadian store fiasco however.
Another driver for future growth is the CityTarget stores, which are smaller, but provide the option to locate in densely populated areas. Those stores could have better productivity due to higher potential traffic and higher inventory turnover because of that.
One risk that might or might not be overblown is the competition from the likes of Amazon.com. When you have a competitor that purposefully sells at cost, and customers do not pay sales taxes at that competitors in most states, you are at a disadvantage. That being said, it is highly unlikely that retailers like Target will be driven away from online competitors. I know that it is very fashionable to forecast the demise of the traditional brick and mortar retailer today. I do not subscribe to the popular opinion of the day. It is very likely that Target would keep expanding its online presence, and offer something to consumers a service which Amazon does not offer today - the online to store shipment method. I also believe that not everything is worth purchasing online, nor are online sales a good venue to do convenience shopping. When a customer gets to a store for one thing at a physical location, they are very likely to buy something else on their journey throughout the store. It makes sense to purchase items right away, rather than wait for days or weeks for them to arrive. Some items are much better to personally try and touch, rather than have someone else deliver them for you. The value of repeatability and those customers who do their weekly/monthly visits to the Target stores is very powerful force for Target as well. That being said, Target can surely expand its online presence, which would actually be good for the business overall.
Target is targeting more affluent consumers with its upscale stores. Its customer base is somewhat different than that of competitor Wal-Mart. Many of Target's customers enjoy shopping there, and are attracted by the appeal of offerings and overall atmosphere within the stores. Target's stores are generally more appealing than those of Wal-Mart, and are cleaner. In addition, Target manages to retain shoppers with its RedCard. Shoppers who use the Target Card get a discount, but also tend to spend more than the average purchaser. In addition, the company has been able to drive more traffic with sales of grocery/food items.
What is the competitive advantage of Target? I believe that the company offers a unique shopping experience that competitors like Wal-Mart do not offer. I also believe that Target looks for a certain type of consumer, who does not like the assortment of goods and the experience that Wal-Mart provides, yet still wants to get a bargain. The company has been able to offer fashion chic items, which draw the specific type of shopper they target. The company also offers convenient locations for shoppers, who come to Target for its quality merchandise. I believe that shares could deliver a very good return to investors who are willing to weather near-term turbulence at the company.
The annual dividend payment has increased by 21.80% per year over the past decade, which is much higher than the growth in EPS. This was achieved mainly because the company decided to pay a higher portion of earnings to shareholders in the form of dividends. Future growth in dividends will be much lower than that however, and will be limited by the growth in earnings per share in the future.
A 20% growth in distributions translates into the dividend payment doubling every three and a half years on average. If we check the dividend history, going as far back as 1986, we could see that Target has managed to double dividends almost every six years on average.
In the past decade, the dividend payout ratio has increased from 11% in 2007 to 41% by 2016. The quadrupling in the dividend payout ratio explains the rapid growth in dividends per share. I believe that long-term growth in earnings per share will determine future dividend growth. A lower payout is always a plus, since it leaves room for consistent dividend growth minimizing the impact of short-term fluctuations in earnings.
The return on equity has generally remained between 15% and 19% over the past decade, with the exception of the drop in 2014 when Canadian operations were losing money. Once Target earnings rebounded by 2016, this indicator went up to 24%. I generally like seeing a high return on equity, which is also relatively stable over time.
Currently, Target is selling for 13 times forward earnings and yields 3.30%. I took advantage of the drop last week in order to add a little to my position in this retailer. As I mentioned on Twitter, I believed that the press release didn’t seem to warrant a 9% decline. This was definitely driven by the animal spirits of fear, which is something I want to take advantage of. It is a no brainer that revenues will decrease, if you sell your pharmacy operations to CVS. On the other hand, it is possible that the stock price goes down from here. This is why I buy a little on the way down, in order to reduce the impact in case I am wrong in my assessment. As an investor, my goal is to reduce the impact of errors in trying to catch a falling knife. I believe that Target would be a solid holding for long-term investors, who are patient and do not get scared away easily. I would be more excited about Target, however, if it dropped further from here into the mid $50's.
Full Disclosure: Long TGT and WMT
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