Target Corp.'s shares surged 8.4% in premarket trading May 22 after the retailer reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share that exceeded analysts' expectations and provided guidance for its second fiscal quarter.

The Minneapolis-based retailer reported that adjusted EPS for the quarter ended May 4 grew 15.9% to $1.53 from $1.32 in the year-earlier quarter, beating the mean consensus estimate for normalized EPS of $1.43 according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Target's comparable sales rose 4.8% on traffic growth of 4.3%, while digital sales grew 42% in the first quarter.

Net earnings for the first quarter climbed 10.8% to $795 million from $718 million in the year-earlier quarter. Total revenue grew 5% to $17.63 billion from $16.78 billion in the year-earlier quarter, reflecting sales growth of 5.1% in addition to 0.5% growth in other revenue.

For the second quarter of fiscal 2019, Targets forecasts adjusted EPS between $1.52 and $1.72 and comparable sales growth in the low to mid-single-digit range. It also anticipates mid-single growth in operating income dollars.

The retailer reaffirmed its guidance for full year 2019. It continues to expect adjusted EPS of $5.75 to $6.05, low to mid-single-digit growth in comparable sales and mid-single-digit growth in operating income.

In premarket trading in New York, Target's shares rose 8.4% to $78.01.