Target Up after Announcing Buyback

Shares of Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) are up about 0.5% in morning trade after the company announced a buy back of another $5 billion in shares under a new stock repurchase program. The retailers existing buy back program of $10 billion is scheduled to be completed within the next few months. The new $5 billion program is expected to be completed within the next two or three years.

Since Target announced its current share repurchase authorization in November 2007, through the third quarter of 2011 the company had repurchased more than185 million shares at an average price of $51.53 per share. These repurchased shares represent approximately 22 percent of shares outstanding at the time the current program was announced. The company expects to complete the new $5 billion authorization in the next 2 to 3 years.

“Our plans envision continued generation of much more cash than we believe is appropriate to invest in our core businesses,” said Doug Scovanner, EVP and chief financial officer of Target Corporation. “We’re committed to maintaining Target’s long history of returning cash to shareholders through both dividends and share repurchase, and this new authorization will allow for seamless execution of share repurchase beyond completion of the current program.”

The company also expects to raise its annual dividend to $3.00 a share or more by 2017, if it meets its goal to achieve annual earnings of $8.00 a share or more by that time. Dividends represent the foundation of Target’s key strategy to return cash to its shareholders. The company has paid a dividend every quarter since it became a public company in 1967. In 2011 the company marked its 40th consecutive year of annual dividend increases.

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Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.