Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.45.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Macy’s from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Macy’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. TD Cowen lowered shares of Macy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Macy’s from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $60,656.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,937.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Antony Spring sold 3,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $62,361.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 228,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,639,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total transaction of $60,656.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,937.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 218,424 shares of company stock valued at $4,405,507. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Macy’s by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 43,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Macy’s by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services grew its holdings in Macy’s by 154.5% during the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Macy’s by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Macy’s by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 140,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,820,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Macy’s Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Macy’s stock opened at $18.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.52. Macy’s has a 52-week low of $10.54 and a 52-week high of $22.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 49.81 and a beta of 2.15.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.47. Macy’s had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 23.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Macy’s will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.1737 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is an increase from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 186.49%.

Macy’s Company Profile

Macy's, Inc, an omni-channel retail organization, operates stores, websites, and mobile applications in the United States. The company sells a range of merchandise, such as apparel and accessories for men, women, and kids; cosmetics; home furnishings; and other consumer goods under the Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and bluemercury brands.