Target on Thursday guided its quarterly earnings forecast higher, citing a rise in traffic.
Shares of Target jumped more than 5 percent in premarket trading following the announcement. Get the latest quote here.
The retailer said it now sees second-quarter earnings per share above the high end of its previous guidance range of 95 cents to $1.15, also helped by a net tax effect related to its global sourcing operations.
The company also said it expects to see a “modest increase” in comparable-store sales.
“Following better-than-expected results in the first quarter, we’ve seen additional, broad-based improvement in traffic and category sales trends in the second quarter, despite continued challenges in the competitive environment,” Brian Cornell, chairman and CEO of Target, said in a statement.
Department store operator J.C. Penney also said this week it was expecting second-quarter sales to significantly improve from the first quarter.
Target also said it was pleased with initial results from Target Restock, a next-day home delivery service it is testing in Minneapolis-Saint Paul.
Target will report second-quarter results on Aug. 16.
—Reuters contributed to this report.