Macy’s (NYSE:M) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Macy’s (NYSE:M) in a research report issued on Friday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Macy’s from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Macy’s from $16.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. Citigroup upgraded Macy’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Macy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Macy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.45.

Macy’s Price Performance

M stock opened at $19.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.97. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.57 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 1.37. Macy’s has a 1 year low of $10.54 and a 1 year high of $22.10.

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

Insider Activity

In other Macy’s news, CEO Antony Spring sold 14,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.63, for a total transaction of $291,682.17. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 248,897 shares in the company, valued at $4,885,848.11. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Macy’s news, CEO Antony Spring sold 14,859 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.63, for a total value of $291,682.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 248,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,885,848.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Gennette sold 30,090 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.66, for a total transaction of $591,569.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,073,699 shares in the company, valued at $21,108,922.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 218,424 shares of company stock valued at $4,405,507. Company insiders own 2.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macy’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Macy’s by 7.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,381,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,645,577 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Macy’s by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,398,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685,986 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC lifted its stake in Macy’s by 0.6% during the third quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 7,810,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,677,000 after purchasing an additional 45,159 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Macy’s by 48.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,272,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730,307 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Macy’s by 20.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,287,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,173,000 after purchasing an additional 565,269 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.