Target lifts sales guidance after bumper holiday season

(Sharecast News) - Target Corporation increased its fourth-quarter sales guidance on Thursday, after better-than-expected trading over the key holiday season. The Minneapolis-based big box retailer said it now expected like-for-like sales to come in 1.5% higher in the fourth quarter, after a 2% jump through November and December.

It had initially forecast fourth-quarter sales would be flat.

Total sales during November and December grew by 2.8%, with both Black Friday and Cyber Monday seeing "record" sales, Target noted.

Guest traffic, meanwhile, rose by nearly 3% over the two holiday months.

However, the update failed to lift the Wall Street stock, which fell 3% in pre-market trading.

Investors were disappointed that Target did not also increase its profit guidance, which it trimmed in November.

Instead the forecast for fourth-quarter adjusted earnings was maintained at between $1.85 and $2.45 per share. Full-year forecasts, for earnings per share of between $8.30 and $8.90, were also left unchanged.

Brian Cornell, chief executive, said Target remained a "destination for consumers, both during important seasonal moments like the holidays and in the everyday moments in between".