On Target for Growth

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Today the investment community is doing what Jim Cramer calls "schnitzeling" when it comes to Target (TGT), a company I've written about in recent months. "Schnitzeling," loosely translated, means buying some shares in anticipation of some inevitable news -- in this case TGT's earnings release Wednesday.

The thesis here could be titled, "Anything Wal-Mart (WMT) Can Do, I Can Do Better."

TGT's last reporting quarter showed a trailing 12-month (TTM) operating margin of 7.3% and a profit margin of 4.2%. WMT in its last quarter had TTM operating margin of 5.93% and a profit margin of 3.62 %. Both TGT and WMT have nearly the same dividend yield, and the return on equity (TTM) "score" was WMT, 22.42% versus TGT's 19.10%.

It's been fun to watch, listen and learn from the conference calls and earnings reports of these two titans of big-box-store merchandising. Both companies have remarkable leadership and enviable track records including a share-holder friendly attitude.

TGT's one-year price movement including the $1.20 uptick earlier Tuesday is relatively impressive, especially when you look back at its trailing 12-month revenue-per-share history, as you'll see on the chart below.

TGT data by YCharts

After Home Depot's (HD) blow-out earnings report before the market opened Tuesday followed by its nearly 6% price-per-share pop, optimism is running high for Target's earnings results.

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Can TGT meet or beat analysts' estimates for last quarter? The answer to that question is a multi-million-dollar reaction waiting to unfold Wednesday. When it comes to earnings per share, analysts estimate the increase will be a realistic 3.5%, which is higher than the estimate for the quarter we're currently in. TGT's management will give forward guidance that investors will be eager to hear.

Sales growth (revenue) is expected to have moved 6.5% higher to almost $22.7 billion for the quarter. The company has been guiding lower concerning the last quarter of 2012 with shoppers still dangling from the "fiscal cliff" at that point.

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