Target’s stock is having its best month in 3 years, while Walmart shares head for worst month this year

Shares of Target Corp.
TGT,
+1.37%
climbed 1.2% toward a four-month high in afternoon trading Thursday, as investors in the discount retailer enjoyed their best month in more than three years. The stock has run up 19.9% in November, which was highlighted by the 17.8% surge on Nov. 15 after the company reported a fiscal third-quarter profit that beat expectations by a wide margin. That puts the stock on track for its biggest monthly gain since is shot up 20.1% in August 2020. Meanwhile, shares of rival Walmart Inc.
WMT,
-0.54%
fell 0.6% on Thursday and have lost 5.1% in November, which would be the worst monthly performance since it slid 7% in December 2022. In comparison, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF
XLP,
+0.49%,
of which shares of both Walmart and Target are components, has gained 3.5% in November while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.07%
has tacked on 8.4%.