Macy’s (NYSE:M) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $6.50 to $7.00. UBS Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. Macy’s traded as high as $22.98 and last traded at $22.8650, with a volume of 5957585 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.36.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Macy’s from $14.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Macy’s from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. BTIG Research began coverage on Macy’s in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Macy’s from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Macy’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.30.

Insider Transactions at Macy’s

In other Macy’s news, EVP Danielle L. Kirgan sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.30, for a total value of $1,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 286,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,950,585.30. This trade represents a 25.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Griscom sold 12,843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.26, for a total value of $221,670.18. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 23,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,521.54. This represents a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 212,843 shares of company stock worth $3,726,670. 1.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macy’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of M. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Macy’s in the 3rd quarter worth $229,000. Cambria Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Macy’s by 4.5% during the third quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 12,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Macy’s in the third quarter worth about $138,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Macy’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP grew its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 8.5% in the third quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 211,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,796,000 after purchasing an additional 16,507 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s Trading Down 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.83.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. Macy’s had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 2.18%.The business’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.1824 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is 41.71%.

Macy’s Company Profile

Macy’s, Inc engages in the retail of apparel, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods. The firm’s brands include Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury. It offers men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel, women’s accessories, intimate apparel, shoes, cosmetics, fragrances, as well as home and miscellaneous products.