NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Target (TGT) - Get Report are lower by 0.71% to $71.42 in mid-day trading on Monday, as the retail giant prepares to release its 2015 third quarter earnings results this week.

The company will report its latest financial results before the market open on Wednesday morning.

Analysts are expecting Target to post a year over year rise in earnings per share for the most recent quarter. However, revenue is expected to decline slightly when compared to the same period last year.

Target has been forecast to report earnings of 86 cents per share on revenue of $17.56 billion for the three month period ended in October.

The company's adjusted earnings came in at 54 cents per share on revenue of $17.73 billion for the 2014 third quarter.

Target is a Minneapolis-based retailer providing everyday essentials and fashionable, and differentiated merchandise at discounted prices.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates TARGET CORP as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

We rate TARGET CORP (TGT) a BUY. This is driven by a number of strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth, increase in net income, revenue growth and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins.

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

  • Looking at where the stock is today compared to one year ago, we find that it is not only higher, but it has also clearly outperformed the rise in the S&P 500 over the same period. Although other factors naturally played a role, the company's strong earnings growth was key. Looking ahead, unless broad bear market conditions prevail, we still see more upside potential for this stock, despite the fact that it has already risen over the past year.
  • TARGET CORP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past year. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, TARGET CORP increased its bottom line by earning $3.82 versus $3.07 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($4.72 versus $3.82).
  • The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Multiline Retail industry. The net income increased by 220.4% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $235.00 million to $753.00 million.
  • Despite its growing revenue, the company underperformed as compared with the industry average of 10.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 2.8%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
  • The debt-to-equity ratio is somewhat low, currently at 0.91, and is less than that of the industry average, implying that there has been a relatively successful effort in the management of debt levels.
  • You can view the full analysis from the report here: TGT

Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of Jim Cramer, TheStreet or any of its contributors.