Target sales jump, profit misses in holiday quarter

NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - Target Corp reported a better-than-expected 3.6 percent rise in comparable sales in the fourth quarter, helped by traffic at its stores and website.

Analysts on average had expected sales at stores open at least a year to increase 3.1 percent, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Excluding items, Target earned a profit of $1.37 per share in the quarter ended Feb.3, just falling short of the average estimate of $1.38.

Sales rose 10 percent to $22.77 billion, topping the average estimate of $22.53 billion.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in New York; Editing by Arun Koyyur)