Targets Results Raise Questions

Target (TGT) reported earnings Tuesday and they seemed to leave more questions than answers.

Target Tuesday reported net earnings of $1,028 million for Q4 ended February 2, 2008, a thirteen-week period, compared with $1,119 million in the fourth quarter ended February 3, 2007, a fourteen-week period. Earnings per share in the fourth quarter decreased 4.7 percent to $1.23 from $1.29 in the same period a year ago. This despite the fact that the company repurchased approximately 26.5 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $54.64, for a total investment of $1.45 billion in the quarter.